


Forgiveness

by Alurax



Series: Vincent Valentine [3]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Demons, Drama, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2008-07-13
Updated: 2013-09-06
Packaged: 2017-12-12 16:37:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 26,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/813690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alurax/pseuds/Alurax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What could possibly be behind that steel door. Sephiroth had to know. Not just for curiosity as much as a need. A feeling in his gut. The appealing glow of that neon light spoke to him. It told him that the glow would give him something. He didn't know what it was, but he wanted it. (lil Sephy)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i'd like to point out that sephy is a little kid about 5-6 ish... so try to keep that in mind while yur readin... and i'll try to remember while i write it.

Sephiroth had run off again. He did this quite often, and he knew it drove the Doctor crazy. The assistants were calling for him to attend his daily injections that he hated so much. He was never told what it was, but he knew how much it hurt and he rarely went willingly. Today was one of the days that crossed with the bi-monthly blood transfusions, where they did something funny with his insides, and he was gonna stall for as long as he could.

Sephiroth had swiped a key card from one of the assistants, a few weeks back, to access restricted areas and hide, but they probably caught on to him by now. He swiped the card through the slot, only to see the little red light blip instead of the green.

Huh? He swiped it through again. Again, that red light beeped at him. They had definitely caught on. Still Sephiroth tugged on the handle. It wouldn't budge. "ohno" He whispered, still trying to pull.

"Sephiroth?" Voices were heard coming down the hallway towards him. He gasped, sprinting down the opposite way. Through a door to the right, a few feet away, (the card still worked on that one) and down a flight of stairs into the lower labs that no one used anymore. He fell, tripping on a broken step, but managed to catch himself on the railing. He sat still, hanging on the railing. His heart in his throat he waited for the men to pass the door.

A sigh of relief let him settle down on the stairs. It was then that he realized a strange brightness at the bottom. Slowly Sephiroth descended the rest of the staircase, following the light. As he drew closer he began to realize that the light had an eerie green glow. It was coming from underneath a heavy steel door. The door was thick, with no windows, and a heavy steel frame bolting it closed. There was a metal slab with a slit in it. He swiped the card through it only to see that evil red light again. He groaned, turning to look around the room. There had to be something here.

Obviously, something was behind that door and they had to have a way to get in there. The room was a mess. Dust and cobwebs everywhere, a desk piled with papers spilling out over the floor, filing cabinets shoved against the corner, and wall shelves covered with old raged books.

Seph slid the card into the pocket of his robe and started looking through the papers on the desk. It was dark, despite the light, and he had to look close to really be able to see what any of them said. Through all the sprawled papers on, in, and off the desk, not much could really give him any information on how to get through that door. Some words did seem to jump out at him….

Armageddon Apocalypse Chaos Omega

Nothing helpful really. Even so, his curiosity grew. He had to know what was behind that door. The why wasn't truly clear, but the resolve was there. That green light was calling to him.

" **SEPHIROTH!"**

Sephiroth jumped, dropping the papers, and nearly wetting himself. It was the Doctor. He was angry and Seph knew he was in big trouble. He had stalled for too long. It always hurt more when the Doctor had to come looking for him. Sephiroth scrambled to his feet and on up the stairs, being careful to not be seen as he sprinted through the halls until he was back in the right places. He was already in enough trouble, he couldn't let anyone know he was anywhere he shouldn't have been.

xXx

Sephiroth lay curled up on his cot, tears soaking his pillow. He was right, it did hurt. He didn't like to cry, in fact the Doctor hated for him to, but Seph was able to find times when he could. It always seemed to help. He closed his eyes, trying to sleep, finding it difficult, as always. The little room was small with a bathroom off to the side. A slot was cut out into the bottom of the door to allow for meals. Even though the walls were painted white, it was still so dark. There were no windows leading outside, since they were underground. The isolation was cold and lonely. Not frightening, as some would see it. Just lonely. Sephiroth was used to it. Even still, he wasn't happy. Content maybe? But all the contentment in the world couldn't make up for lonely.

On a small shelf, next to his bed were books. Only a few. Ones he'd read so many times he could nearly recite them by heart, but that didn't stop him. Epic tales of adventure and intrigue. Amazing stories that led him to new worlds and away from the darkness of solitude. And always the hero had someone to share it with. Whether it be a friend... lover... or even an animal, there was a companion.

Those stories were the only escape he had. How he longed to reach the outside world. To become a hero, and have someone to share it with. Even tho it was dark, the Mako infused in his body improved his vision. If he wanted to read, he could, but he was too tired. Instead he lay curled up with one of the books. His tears trailing along the creases in the leather binding. It was one of his favorites. A story of a young girl forced to flee the tyranny of her drunk abusive father. Dragging along her younger sister with her.

Thoughts of that green light flooded his mind. Why couldn't he get that sight out of his head? What could possibly be behind that steel door. He had to know. Not just for curiosity as much as a need. A feeling in his gut. The appealing glow of that neon light spoke to him. It told him that the glow would give him something. He didn't know what it was, but he wanted it. These thoughts finally gave the silver haired child enough resolve to finally lull him to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Sephiroth awoke with a vicious banging on the door, followed by the familiar flip that meant food. Slowly rubbing his eyes, he rose from the cot, kneeling down to collect his meal. Didn't care to know what it was or even what was in it. It was merely another mundane routine in his daily life. It was supposed to be healthy for his development or something like that. If he thought too much about what he was eating it usually made the taste more prominent. If he didn't eat, there was no other. He was hungry. It seemed a fair preservation technique. Sephiroth finished quickly, and started playing with his fork. Twirling the silver implement in his fingers. No not silver. Silver was more pliant. It was most likely nickle silver. So named for the color, as it retains no actual silver. At the very least maybe silver plated, but there is no net value in plating. A compound formulated of 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Typically used for cutlery, or making jewelry. Given the sturdy nature of this compound it is implemented far more than precious metals. Or rather mixed in so that one with no real eye for such thing would notice. Often blends well with all variety of stones. Sapphire seeming to be the most popular, but Sephiroth always liked the way a silver appearance could compliment Garnet or Rubies. Red hues just seemed to fet the colors better than anything. He liked the color red.

His thoughts paused briefly in its rambling. A green overtone seemed to shade his mind. He liked green too. They complimented each other very well. Naturally, because they were complimentary colors, but none of the other combinations held his interest the way they did. Greens just always seemed to draw his interest then even the smallest splash of red could keep him hooked. Sephiroth's head inclined slowly. Visions of stairs. Green light and steel. Steel blocking his view of what he wanted to see. It wasn't fair. There had to be some way to get in that door.

A loud banging on the door broke him from his musing. "Hurry up, we're ready for you."

"Uh." Sephiroth's heart was pounding like it did when he knew he was somewhere he shouldn't be. But why? "Ok." Just thinking about something wasn't so bad... was it? Glancing down at the fork, still in his hands, he realize his startled actions had broken a prong off, as well as bending the handle. Quickly, he slid the prong under his pillow, and straightened the fork out. Sephiroth slid out of bed, to slip the plate back under the door.

The man, on the other side, could be heard picking up the plate. "I'll be back for you." His footsteps slowly faded down the hallway outside.

Sephiroth pulled open the drop box, next to the door, pulling out a small white robe. He never had much to wear. Just the same simple white robe, and pants. It must have been out of convenience for whatever they needed to do to him. The clothes had to be changed every day. He guessed to keep out some kind of infection. Not that it mattered. Sephiroth never got sick. He changed quickly, sliding the old one into the slot.

The footsteps returned, coming to a stop outside of the door, which soon opened. "Come on."

He was behind the door, so Sephiroth could easily grab the key card and fork prong, sliding them into his pocket. They'd come later to change the sheets, and he couldn't risk having someone find them.

xXx

Sephiroth was led into the Doctor's office, where he was to do his studies. There was a small desk, by the wall, with a stack of books for today's lessons. He sat at the desk, constantly guarded. Being forced to study for hours. Advanced science, mathematics, physics, and anything else they could squeeze into that little brain. Memorizing four new chapters of each every other day. Fortunately, he was able to comprehend and absorb things quickly. He learned long ago how to make it look like he was studying for much longer than it really took. Not that it mattered. The guard he had for today usually fell asleep, from waiting, anyway.

Sephiroth closed the last of his books and sighed. He may have been able to absorb it quick enough, but it still took a long time to finish reading. It had been what seemed like hours, and most likely was. His arms stretched high over his head, he yawned. As he settled back down, head drooping lazily in his hand, his eyes started to wander. Scanning the contents of the Doctor's office for what must have been the millionth time. Letting his mind drift off into his thoughts once again. Unavoidably, and much faster than before, he began to contemplate the green door. Well, 'green door' wasn't a very accurate description. It was actually a steel door with a green light behind it, but the other way was just simpler to think about. It was better to not over complicate things with long descriptions. That way you could remember and build up to the details later. If there were anymore details to be observed if he was stuck on the outside. A red spark seemed to catch his eye. Sephiroth paused. Unsure of what in the office could possibly knock him from his musings.

It was a book. A book he'd seem far more times than he hoped to count, but for some reason kept drawing his eye. The book had a deep red spine with dark text that seemed to twinkle in the florescent light, from this angle.

He didn't get it though.

He'd seen those books plenty of times. It'd never jumped out at him like that before. Why now, did he notice it? Why did he have this unruly urge to take that book?

With another glance at the guard, Sephiroth scooted out of his chair and patted over to the bookshelf. He quietly rolled the chair over and climbed on up. The dark text came in clearer up close. At first glance it appeared to be black, but there were obvious hints of green in the highlights. His head turned sideways to better read the title.

'Armageddon'

He mouthed it, wordlessly, and jumped when the guard snored. How had he heard him? Sephiroth watched the guard, his heart in his throat. It had to just be a coincidence. This man slept like a rock. He was still definitely out. Sephiroth's eyes flicked between the shelf and the guard. The Doctor's books were off limits to him. He never dared taking one before, fearing the punishment for it. Did he dare risk it now?

Sephiroth's attention turned fully back to the shelf. Before his mind even settled on a logical answer, he plucked the book off, and jumped under the desk.

The pages were packed with loose papers. Notes. Fast scripts, taken in the margins, made it difficult to read, despite some being highlighted. He tried to make some sense of the contents. Evidently the Doctor understood this jibberish, but the knowledge must have been beyond his comprehension. As he flipped through the pages he found some illustrations. It looked like some kind of monster. The illustration was in some kind of impressionistic style, which made it difficult to discern details. He flipped around more and found another drawing of what must have been a demon. Glowing eyes and large wings like some kind of bat out of hell. Still, those same words jumped out at him. The caption beneath this picture had not been scrawled over. It read: _"_ _Soul wrought of terra corrupt, quelling impurity, purging the stream to beckon forth an ultimate faith. Behold mighty Chaos, Omega's squire to the lofty heavens."_

'Omega' and 'Chaos'

It didn't make sense. Omega was the twenty-four letter in the Greek alphabet, and Chaos meant 'a state of utter confusion or disorder'. Non tangible phenomena that can only be observed as a purely metaphysical interpretation. Yet this was implying they were a physical being. That Chaos was somehow a servant of Omega.

What did they have in common?

Armageddon, or Apocalypse, was the event that was meant to bring the end of everything. Sephiroth's brow creased with thought. Something else had occurred to him. Omega could also be interpreted as the last of any series. The end. 'Utter confusion or disorder' could cause damage or destruction.

End and Destruction?

If Chaos serves Omega, then that would mean that disorder somehow serves the end... of the world? Why would anyone want to destroy the world?

Why would the Doctor want to destroy the world?

He knew he was mean, but what point is there in destroying somewhere you live?

From between the pages, a small yellow envelope slid out onto the floor. Sephiroth laid the book on the floor, and picked it up. He opened the envelope to find a key card inside. "Hmm." His shining green gaze looked over it, examining to see if there was anything different or unusual about this particular card.

Footsteps came, from down the hall, and Sephiroth slid the envelope back in the book, pocketing the card, and returned the book to its rightful place. He proceeded to wake the guard and sat back at his table. The book, he was supposed to be studying, flipped back open and Sephiroth resumed his role of pretend. Although, most of his attention went to controlling his breathing and getting his heart to slow down.

The guard fidgeted, standing to attention as two other men entered. Sephiroth closed the books, and stood as well.

"Are you finished?" One of the men asked, only really half caring. The boy nodded and was led out.

xXx

He was taken to a training room on an upper lever, though it was still in the basement. Sephiroth stood in the center of the room. Six men surrounded him, all with different varieties of weapons. One man shot at the child, another swinging a sword. He was able to dodge, quite skillfully, only caught off guard when a leather whip snapped around his wrist. Almost immediately, another bullet was fired, and he tried to evade as it grazed his foot. Sephiroth growled at the bothersome whip, slinging its master into the gunman.

What seemed like a round of firecrackers exploded all about, but Sephiroth managed to kick some back at his attackers before they detonated. They busted, enveloping the room in smoke.

Sephiroth was able to knock them all out easily enough. He panted, glancing up at the window overlooking the training room. The Doctor's silhouette stood behind the glass. Watching his progress with great intensity. Was it enough?

The Doctor merely shook his head, walking away. Sephiroth sighed, miserably.

xXx

After another day was finally completed, Sephiroth just lay in his cot, fiddling with the three objects he had acquired. He scratched the top of his toes on the back of his other leg. They hadn't bothered to wrap up his foot, from where the bullet grazed him. Not that it mattered. He never seemed to need them to tend to his injuries. It just itched.

He picked up the two cards. It was then that he noticed the card from the book was indeed different. The strip, on the back, was slightly redder than the typical black.

The colors converged and that ominous green light began to form in his mind again, bringing with it the same questions.

What was behind that door?

Why did the thought of that light make him happy?

Why did it bring comfort?

Easing his mind?

He had to know what was behind that door, and he had a hunch this key card would help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: man I'd really hate to have to speed this up, but all this crap is just so damn boring… I friggin hate set-up. I hardly had the patience to type it up. Especially since all the ideas I keep getting are AFTER the green light… sigh


	3. Chapter 3

It seemed like the doctor was in bad spirits lately. His tasks seemed to come more often. Training got harder and Sephiroth was forced to study more than before.

The next couple of weeks passed painfully slow. He wasn't able to sneak away from the procedures as well as he could before. In all honesty, he didn't dare try. With the thick mood looming over the whole area, it made it difficult to even take one step out of line.

Why was he upset? The only thing Sephiroth could figure was that something seemed to be wrong with his right hand. It wasn't as steady as it usually was. Which didn't bode well for whatever he was working on. That in itself made him nervous. For a while there were splints on three of his fingers. Even when they came off there was a bizarre twist to the knuckles. How had he hurt his hand?

Eventually things seemed to settle back into the norm, but Sephiroth still didn't dare act up.

Figuring that they wouldn't expect it, when he was too afraid to try anything, Sephiroth had managed to slide the broken fork prong into the lock of his door, and broke it. After a short while longer, Sephiroth finally checked to see if his plot worked. He tested the bolt on the door, and pushed sharply. It opened, heavily, but still, he could get out.

The boy wanted to take one more look at that odd door, in the basement. Since everyone was asleep, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Unfortunately, he didn't really know for sure, how many people were still up and about. Not nearly as much as one would think, but still enough to make him nervous.

He was about to head back to his room, and try to think of another way to find out, when he saw the Doctor walk past. Normally, it wouldn't have been a good idea to follow him, but the direction he was heading made the silver haired child curious.

He, cautiously, followed him until it was confirmed… he was heading into the lower level.

Sephiroth almost didn't want to believe that the Doctor was really heading toward that green light, but curiosity enticed him to follow. He followed the Doctor on down that familiar path until he was assured that's where he was headed.

Sephiroth crouched at the bottom of the stairs. Scrunching himself as small as possible to stay out of sight. The Doctor stopped in front of the door and checked the area, before pulling out a key card. He slid it through the slot, causing the steel plate to slide aside, and reveal a small keypad. Sephiroth leaned over to try to see the inputted code. He hid quickly, with the glance shot in his direction.

Sephiroth tried to see what was behind the door, but it slammed shut before anything could be revealed. He sighed, half from disappointment, though mostly just relieved that he wasn't caught. Silently, he swept back up the stairs, since it really wasn't a good idea to be there any longer, reciting the inputted code in his head. He couldn't really see the actual numbers, but the positions of his fingers told him what it had been.

xXx

Still playing it safe, Sephiroth waited before trying to reach the door again. He waited up until it was fairly late at night then slipped out of his room. There were still a few people patrolling the halls, but nothing he couldn't sneak by.

He made it to the door to the basement, pushing it open slowly. It was just as dark as he'd remembered, and he crept down the wooden stairs. He froze upon the creaking boards, his heart pounding as he descended back into the dark depths. It was different being alone, than when he followed the Doctor down here. At least then he knew where he was.

Sephiroth reached the bottom, darting over to the door, guided by the green light, still spilling from underneath it. He pulled the green key card from his pocket, and paused. Was whatever was behind there really worth him getting in worse trouble, then he already seemed to be?

He glanced down at the light on the floor. Could he risk it? With a steady breath, against his still pounding heart, Sephiroth slid the key card through the slit, to reveal the panel. He couldn't believe that actually worked.

Ok… 3-4-1-0-5… at least that's what it appeared to be. Though it was odd when something funny caught his eye. The four was upside down… kinda like an h. Either way, this was the path he saw the doctor's hand follow. Sure enough, it was right. The lock slid to the side, allowing him to push the heavy door open.

"Aha!" Sephiroth's heart froze, feeling the Doctor grasp tightly onto his arm. "I knew it!"

"D-doctor, I."

"No excuses, Sephiroth, you've undermined me, for the last time." He snatched the key card from the small boy's hand. "I'll teach you not to go against me. You're not to ever come down here again, do yo understand me!?" He proceeded to drag him out, slamming the door shut behind him. He shook Sephiroth fiercely. "I said, do you understand me?" A hard hand struck him across the face. "STOP CRYING AND ANSWER ME!"

"Y-yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir."

"Not as sorry as you're going to be." The doctor dragged Sephiroth toward the stairs. Sephiroth glanced back to the green light, still a mystery to him.

He was so close. He had almost reached it. The source of that light was right there in front of him, but he missed it. His mind screamed out for that light to help. He didn't want to know what would happen to him. He'd never seen the Doctor this angry before.

xXx

Sephiroth was dragged through the hall, receiving diverted looks from the surrounding guards. His arm was beginning to go numb from the tight grip of the hand.

The Doctor led him into one of the labs he knew all too well. Against his better judgment, Sephiroth pulled at his arm, only to be jerked hard enough to twinge his neck. He was shoved onto an upright table, facing the cold steel, soon having the leather straps fastened around his arms and legs.

The small boy's breathe quickened, pulling desperately at the restraints. A sharp prick, into the side of his neck, and Sephiroth screamed, as a thick substance corroded though his veins. It was thick and hot. Far too much for his tiny system to handle.

He felt the tight pull, as it left his skin, and he panted, still feeling the effects from it.

"I don't understand it, Sephiroth."

He turned to the voice, his vision hazing over.

The Doctor's back was to him, messing with something in the cabinets. "I've given you so much. I've devoted my life to you. To making you stronger, and this is how you repay me. Why do you have to be so stubborn?" The Doctor turned back towards him, eyes narrowed behind the ominous gleam off his glasses. The boy's heart stopped, at the sight of the short leather whip. Snapping in his hands to create the very reaction he was causing. "I'm just going to have to try something else, to get you to listen, now aren't I?"

"Please, no." His voice came out in a small whimper, tears glistening from the Mako sheen of his glowing green eyes.

"You will learn to mind me." With one sharp crack, Sephiroth could feel the sting cut across his back. It was difficult to tell if it was the pain or the fear of the sound, that hurt more. Yes. In the world Sephiroth lived in fear was painful. He could feel his own hot blood, flowing across his pale skin. The heat of it, made the resulting cuts sting. The stinging nearly numbed his back to the next strike. The only thing that brought his attention to it was the sound of that sharp crack.

"Please, Sir, stop. I'm sorry." Sephiroth sobbed, his fingers curling into his palms.

"You always say that." The Doctor stepped closer, wringing the whip in his fists. "Every time I catch you, you always say you're sorry." The whip cracked again making Sephiroth sob harder. His face pressed into the hard metal table, pleading with him under his breath. "If you were truly sorry then you wouldn't have done this. I need to make sure you've truly learned your lesson... Are you crying?" He asked through gritted teeth, snapping the whip again.

Sephiroth screamed again, instinctively crying, "No!" Even if he knew lying would just make the Doctor angrier.

"I am training you to be a man." -crack- "Men don't cry." -CRACK- "Stop crying!"

Sephiroth buried his face in the table again. His teeth dug into his bottom lip, tasting the metallic taste of blood along the tip of his tongue. Maybe it would stop if he could just stop crying. That's what he wanted. If he could stop crying then the Doctor would be satisfied.

Nothing worked.

Each strike was like a burning knife against his already raw skin. The only relief from it was the feeling of cold tears against the heat of his pain. Soon, his eyes closed. Gladly letting his consciousness escape him.

xXx

Sephiroth woke up to a harsh cold surrounding him. He was laying on something hard. His mind still numb from the pain. His back screaming with each movement. It soon became apparent that something was settling heavily on his ankles, his wrists too. His eyes began to open, to try to see where he was, but there was hardly anything to be seen. A faint light, from what he guessed was a door, traced over him. It glistened off of his wrist, reflecting a silverish glow. Sephiroth reached a hand to it. He touched the soft glow, only to realize that his thoughts were right. It was a shackle. The doctor had chained him up in one of the holding cells. He tried to sit up, feeling that same heavy weight around his neck.

The sharp sting, in his back, restricted him from rising fully. He quivered, still trying to see something, his labored breaths echoing through the dark room.

It was what he deserved anyway. Sephiroth knew better than to snoop around in restricted areas. All because of that stupid light. Who cared what it was anyway? All it's done was get him in more trouble.

He settled back down, closing his eyes. What was the point?

xXx

It had almost seemed like they'd forgotten about the silver haired child in lock-down. He was no longer allowed to change his cloths, and meals came less frequently. It was far more difficult to determine time laps in this dark place, and he wasn't even sure he even got a meal every day.

The only good part was that the procedures seemed to cease. He was no longer forced onto lab tables, or even to study like he had to before. He hadn't even seen the Doctor since he was locked away down here.

An endless time passed before Sephiroth had even seen one of the attendants. A rattling of keys, on the other side of the door, and the steel door swung open, to let him in. He tossed a plate of strange food down on the floor in front of him, turning to leave. It seemed even more scarce than before, but at least it was food.

He ate quickly, feeling on the verge of starvation, and threw the plate over against the wall.

Sephiroth buried his face in his knees, cursing his very existence.

xXx

"Sephiroth." A weak raspy voice called to him. "Sephiroth… you have to… help you… safe."

What? He tried to open his eyes and see where the voice was coming from, but all that came was darkness.

"Sephiroth, please… come… help."

"Hello?" He pushed up onto his knees, still looking around.

"Sephiroth."

"Where are you?"

"Come."

The ground beneath him, started to feel lax. It seemed to liquefy, into an odd thick water. Almost like jello mixed with molasses. "What's going on!?"

"Come."

Directly beneath him, the ground shot up a bright green light, and he fell into the mass of liquid. He flailed trying to swim in the thick, watery mass. What was going on?

"Come back, Sephiroth… trust me… I can help you."

xXx

Sephiroth awoke, sitting up quickly. He felt the floor, to see if it was still wet. Resolving that it was solid, he sat down, bringing a hand to his forehead. "What was that all about?"

He shot a quick glance to the door. "It couldn't really be." Sephiroth pulled at his wrists, trying to slide them from the cuffs. "Maybe I should… what else do I have to lose?" The thick metal cut into his hand, as he pulled further, determined now to get free. A strange tingling lit up the end of his fingers. "I have to know, but I have to get out of here, first."

xXx

It was still a good while before anyone else came by. The guard unlocked the door, proceeding closer. "How ya holdin up squirt?" It was possibly the first kind thing anyone had said to him, since his isolation. Or ever, for that matter. Only maybe two of the guards would show any form of concern, but there was still no chance of ever getting any true help from these people. The guard laid the plate down in front of him.

Before he could pull his hand away, Sephiroth's hand snapped out, grasping his wrist.

It was now or never.

The guard gasped, "How did you get free!?" Sephiroth pulled him closer, snapping his other hand over his mouth, and surged a bolt of energy through his body. The guard twitched and fell limp, allowing the child to fish around for the keys. He found them, flinging the guard back into the wall behind him.

Sephiroth proceeded to unlock his restraints, darting out of the room. He wasn't as familiar with this part of the labs, but he had a pretty honed since of direction anyway, so it wasn't too difficult. The boy finally made it back to an area he recognized, making his way to the Doctor's office. If he didn't get that key card, there was no way he'd ever find out.

He opened the door, slowly, glancing in first to make sure no one was there. It was vacant. Sephiroth ran in, searching desperately around for that card. He checked the book first, but it was no longer there. His attention turned to the desk. Throwing around papers. Ripping open drawers. Even digging around for false bottoms. He didn't even care if he was making noise. He had to find that card. There were a few, in a drawer. Desperately, Sephiroth checked the backs. All the strips were black. He tossed them down, and checked the other drawers.

Nothing.

Sephiroth climbed up into the chair, searching through the bookcase. He could hear voices coming closer, causing him to lose his balance, and fall off the wheeled chair. Seeing as how he was trained, the boy was able to land, so as not to injure himself, too much, and spun to his feet. He was still kinda low, and got a good look under the desk. There was an area where the drawer had once been. Taped to the bottom of the desktop was a key card. He wouldn't have even seen it if he hadn't removed the top drawer.

He snatched it off, checking the back. Sure enough the strip was red. "Yes."

Sephiroth jumped to his feet, running for the door. Unfortunately, he had completely forgotten that people were coming and ran right out into them.

"What are you doing out here?"

Sephiroth gasped, as the two guards grabbed for him. He jumped back, then sprang forward kicking one upside the head, into the other, then darted down the hall.

It was simple to find his way from here, but he had to hurry. The news that two Turks had been taken down would not be ignored. And they'd immediately know who it was.

Sephiroth flew through the hallways, twisting around corners, dealing with more guards along the way, until finally he made it to the restricted area, deep in the catacombs of the labs. He found the door, slid through, and ran down the stairs.

The boy followed the green light, right up to the heavy steel door. A commotion could be heard, coming toward him. He slid the card quickly through the slot, only to have his heart stop dead from its quick pace.

It didn't work. The little light beeped red, unable to open the door.

He panted, glancing back to the stairway, and placed the card in the top of the slot. He closed his eyes, sliding it through again. Three quick beeps, and the panel slid over. Sephiroth felt his heart rise, punching in the code. The door slid open, and he ran in.

Sephiroth slammed the door shut, smashing the lock. Doing so may've stopped him from getting out, but that also meant no one else could get in.

The small child flopped on the ground, trying to catch his breath. He glanced back at the door, trying to steady his overall state.

The green light drew his periphery. Finally… the light that had, in a way, haunted him since he'd first caught a glimpse of it. He was finally going to find out what was in here. He turned to look up at a large tube, filled with thick green liquid. It seemed like something was in it, but the height in which it was elevated made it difficult to make out.

Sephiroth stood, stepping closer. A man came into view through the translucent liquid. Someone he'd never seen before. He had wires stretching from every vital part of his body, and an oxygen mask over his face. Just the sight of this man made him feel strange. Almost happy. His frame was slender, yet he seemed strong. The scars covering the man's bare flesh was something all too familiar to him. Those marks had been made with a scalpel… just like some of his own. As he circled, there was a clear view of more scars along his back. Criss-crossed with something else he was familiar with. Part of the doctor's punishment. The fresh scars on his own back twinged from the lashes. A dark shape caught his eye. He glanced down at the man's left hand, seeing it was contorted into something that didn't even look like skin anymore. It was blackened, almost like it'd been charred. His nails extending into sharp delicate points.

Long dark hair flowed in the tube, framing the delicate features of his face. This man was beautiful. Nearly angelic. Was the doctor messing with him as well? Maybe he knew what he had been through. Sephiroth climbed onto stairs, around the lower edge of the tube, tapping on the glass. "Hello?"

There was no response. Was he dead?

Sephiroth climbed down, glancing over the keys, on the computer wrapped around the tube. He checked the files on this specimen, finally coming to a description. "Vincent… Valentine?"

He looked up at the man again. "So your name's Vincent?"

The man moaned, his hand twitching. His eyes began to flutter gently open. Revealing a deep red gaze, glowing with that familiar sheen of Mako, directly down towards the silver haired child.

Sephiroth gasped, jumping back. "You're alive!?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: OMG I'm finally getting back to typing this one. I'll admit it, I rushed it a bit, but I'm 3 chapts in… that's long enough to wait… right?... even if those chapts were a lot shorter than usual. This was actually a rather difficult one to write. Mainly because of my pure disdain for this doctor. It makes me physically ill to have him hurting characters I like. So when he was punishing Sephy... yet. I even felt like I wanted to puke when he just slapped him last earlier.
> 
> Anywho... WOOOOOOOOOO…. Finally, I'm at the part I've been dying to write


	4. Chapter 4

Vincent stared down at the small child below him. It couldn't be. He looked so much like her, there could be no other explanation. He remembered hearing his dear Lucrecia crying near him. Telling him about her son, and how she was never allowed near him. Could this really be Sephiroth? Lucrecia's child? Could he possibly be this old already? How long was he down here?

The awareness that everything seemed to be caught in a green haze slowly began to dawn on him. The gunman's body felt light… lighter than he'd felt it in years. What was he in?

Vincent's eyes darted around the green liquid, becoming aware of the mask and monitors. Where was he?

The dumbstruck child realized his struggle and gasped. "H-hold on." He ran over to the computers, examining the controls. "I'll get you out." Sephiroth quickly skimmed it, trying to find out how to open the chamber. He hit a few keys, with which he was vaguely aware of. The green liquid began to drain from the tube.

Vincent's body suddenly felt heavy. When the weight hit his legs, he collapsed to his knees. Finding his breathing was more restricted, Vincent tore away the face mask, beginning to pant as the tube lifted up into the mechanisms above him.

What the hell was going on? In a fit of rage, and a growl that was little less than human, he tore off the suction cups for the wires attached to his head, realizing all too late the needles that were pierced through each one, holding them in place.

Sephiroth wrung his hands, watching him with fascination. What was he?

Vincent finally managed to pull the last needle out. He continued to pant, hardly able to catch his breath. Soon golden eyes turned up towards the small child, swirling in a dominance of red. "Are you Sephiroth?" He managed to wheeze between breaths.

Sephiroth's heart stopped at the sound of his voice. It was the same as his dream. Slowly he nodded, speechless – disbelief at what was happening.

Vincent's body shook with force as he tried to stand. Before he realized he'd moved, Sephiroth ran up the small staircase, and tried to help him up. His skin was pale as ice, but he felt so warm. Despite this fact… the older man was shivering. Course, the fact that he was naked, and slightly wet could've had something to do with it.

A pair of gleaming red eyes fell on Sephiroth. Vincent let the child help him down from the ledge, and into a chair. Vincent glanced around the small room, then down at Sephiroth. "Where are we?"

"The labs." He answered simply, not aware that there was indeed more information required.

A timid smile found Vincent's lips, touched with a hint of sadness He tried to rub a chill from his arm. When his fingers traced his left forearm, he glanced down at the blackened skin, almost not believing it was his own. Vincent's eyes closed gently, trying to hold back his tears. He couldn't cry for himself. Not when this child before him was hurting too. "Sephiroth?" Vincent looked up, shocked to see he wasn't standing in front of him anymore. He pushed himself up, looking around. "Sephiroth? Where are you?"

"I'm right here." Sephiroth came from behind an open storage unit, carrying a pile of cloths. Vincent settled back into the chair, as he held them out to him. Sephiroth's face touched with red as he did so. "The Doctor usually keeps spare cloths in his labs. These should warm you up."

The gunman took the pile, eying the small face. His gaze fell down on the arm closest to him. The white cloth had fallen back, exposing past his elbow. Vincent's eyes widened and he fell to his knees, throwing the cloths into the chair. Seph pulled back, a bit unsure. Vincent pushed up the sleeve, revealing track marks along the child's arm. Small scars crossed the pale skin. Vincent followed the scars along the slim neck, and on down his chest and stomach (Which had what looked like really old bandages wrapped around him.). This was horrible. This small child had just as many scars as he did, now. When he looked up at the frightened face, there were tears streaking from his glowing red eyes.

Before Sephiroth could react, Vincent had pulled the fragile body into his arms, holding him tightly against him. Sephiroth froze, considering fighting back. He was usually terrified to have a grown up so close to him. It usually ended up hurting. But no one else had ever held him so warmly. None of them had ever cried before. Which was really strange… grown ups didn't cry.

"I'm so sorry, Sephiroth."

Huh? Sephiroth glanced up at him. "Sorry? For what?"

Vincent traced a hand along the child's smooth face. "If I had only spoke up, when I had the chance… if I had done something, you'd never have to suffer so."

The distant sounds of an on-coming rush could be heard bounding down the stairs. There was a commotion on the other side, followed by a heavy pounding.

"Open this door, Sephiroth." Bellowed the Doctor's voice through the heavy steel. "If you come out now, I promise your punishment will be minimal."

Sephiroth hadn't even realized he'd whimpered, from the underlining venom dripping from the voice, until Vincent had pulled him in tight against him again. Gleaming green eyes turned up to see his face, those red eyes burning darker, as they seemed to bore straight through the door. Vincent squeezed Sephiroth's arms whispering in a low growl. "I'm going to do something this time."

The sounds of fire and metal scraping metal could be heard from the other side of the door.

Vincent held Sephiroth out at arms length, turning back to him. "Is there another way out of this room?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "I'm not sure." He turned back to the door. "I broke the lock on that one, but I've never been down here before."

Vincent sighed. "Ok." He stood, quickly pulling the pants from the chair, and sliding them on. He really didn't see much point in the other cloths, but he was kinda cold, so slid the lab coat around his shoulders. "Let's go." Vincent grabbed Sephiroth's wrist, leading him towards the other side of the lab. "These labs tend to have another door somewhere. Just in case of emergencies."

A loud clunk, turned both eyes back to the door. It sounded as if the door had fallen to the ground, but it was still up. Maybe they got half of it down.

Vincent pushed Sephiroth behind the storage unit, pushing him down close to the floor. "Stay right here."

The gunman continued to search the room. The switch for the trap door was typically in a drawer, or hidden under a counter or something. It looked as if they were in one of the older laboratories, so it couldn't have changed too much. Not many people outside of the scientists knew of these things, but that was one of the secrets Dr. Crescent had taught him. After all, if he was assigned to protect them, he'd have to know these things.

"Aha." The switch was located along the crease above the inside of one of the drawers, and a small door slid open. Sephiroth's eyes went wide. Even he didn't know that about the labs.

With another quick glance at the door, Vincent grabbed Sephiroth's arm again, and pulled him through the smaller door. The door closed behind them, having a motion sensor. Vincent crouched, silently clinging to the small child, listening as they busted through the main door. His breath hitched, hearing that all-too-familiar voice calling for Sephiroth. He could've sworn he heard his own name as well.

Vincent scooped Sephiroth up into his arms and ran down the corridor, they had just come into. No doubt those men knew where they had gone, so it wouldn't do them any good to stay still until he was sure they were safe.

Sephiroth wasn't quite sure what to think about the whole situation. He'd just met this man, and already he was trying to protect him. It didn't make any sense. Why did he care? Course it did feel kinda neat. He'd never been carried before. Course he probably would have preferred to run on his own, but for some reason, he didn't seem to mind being in Vincent's arms. Instead, he clung to the dark-haired man's neck, almost afraid to let go.

Vincent cut down the hall, hearing voices after them. He approached another large steel door. With Sephiroth clinging to his neck, he was able to get a hand out to grasp the handle and try to open it. It barely budged. Vincent glanced back down the hall, as they got closer. He rammed his shoulder into the heavy door, until it gave way, toppling them both through.

Still having an arm free, Vincent was able to catch himself from crushing the child, and kicked the door closed. After a quick breath, he stood again and took off down the hall. His legs stung as he continued to run. Vincent really didn't know how long he'd been down there, but last thing he knew Sephiroth had just been born. So it was a safe bet to say maybe four to five years. Damn… time flies when you're cryogenic-ally suspended in a vile of goop.

The gunman was willing to bet that he'd been moved throughout his sleep. None of these halls seemed familiar to him. And why hadn't he run into any guards?

Were they seriously all dumb enough to follow him through the door?

Vincent started to turn down a corner, when Sephiroth gasped. "No… not that way."

"Huh?" Vincent stopped, eying the child in his arms. "Why not? What's down there?"

Sephiroth just shook his head. "Just don't go that way."

Vincent quirked an eyebrow. "OK." He decided on a separate hallway. Not two seconds after he'd taken the alternate route he heard voices echoing from the other corridor Exclaiming that they'd heard something and followed after them. Wow. Vincent glanced down at Sephiroth. This kid's intuition was top-notch.

"Do you know the way out of here?"

Sephiroth shook his head, adjusting his grip around the gunman's neck. "I've never been out of the labs."

"Never?"

"Yep… never."

"Yikes… Ok."

The guards sounded as if they were getting closer. He must be weak… he wasn't running nearly as fast as he knew he could.

They would've gotten to the hall they were in, by the time he reached the end. So Vincent decided to take a detour into one of the rooms, lining the side of the halls. Once inside, he finally put Sephiroth on the floor, still keeping a hand on his shoulder. The gunman peered out the door, leaving it open a mere crack to see. As the two men grew closer, the hand left Sephiroth, grasping both to the handle.

Vincent lunged the door open, trapping one of the men behind it, and straight into the connecting wall. He then spun around, contacting a foot with the other guard's head, knocking him out against the opposite wall before he could call for back-up.

Sephiroth watched him, impressed. He hadn't met a grown-up yet that could fight like that.

Vincent grabbed both of the unconscious men, dragging them into the room. It was only then that he got to look around. A chill ran down his spine. It was a lab. How ironic, that when trying to escape one, he ended up taking refuge in another. Vincent dragged the two men over to the table, strapping one hand each into one of the metal restraints and locked them.

Sephiroth just watched him dig through the men's cloths. He pulled the guns from both of their holsters, and proceeded to check for bullets. The green eyes fell on the blackened arm. This man was strong, deformed, scarred… what could've caused all this? "Are you one of the Doctor's projects?"

Vincent's eyes widened from the comment. He glanced over at Sephiroth, then proceeded to fish through the uniform. He sighed. "Unfortunately."

There was a glint of an angry sorrow in his eyes that made Sephiroth unsure if he should ask more.

"Aha." Vincent held up a small radar looking thing. "Knew they had one." He started messing with the dials.

Sephiroth scooted in for a closer look. "What is it?"

"Lower class ShinRa officers typically have tracking devices, which show maps of the whole facility… whoa." He stopped to look at the blipping screen. "It seems we're underneath ShinRa." He continued to mess with the dials. "Good… I may not know where we are, but I know how to get out." Vincent slid the radar back in the guard's uniform. After pocketing his newly acquired artillery, (slipping one gun down the front of his pants, the other in back) he grasped Sephiroth's wrist, running back down the hall.

Sephiroth glanced back at the room, a bit confused. "Why don't you take the map with you?"

"I told you. It has a tracking device on it. Besides, I got it all memorized. I know the way out now."

Sephiroth turned back to Vincent. "You seem to know a lot about this place. How do you know so much?"

"Most of this is just basics you learn as a Turk."

Sephiroth gasped. He stopped, jerking his hand from Vincent's grip.

Vincent stopped, turning back to him. "What's wrong?"

The child took a step back from him. For the first time truly scared. "Y-you're a Turk?"

Vincent eyed him a bit skeptically. "Well, yea. I mean, not anymore I guess."

Sephiroth drew his arms into himself, crumpling away from Vincent.

"Seph, what's wrong?"

"Y-you're one of them. You help the doctor. You help him hurt me."

"What are you talking about, Sephiroth? I'm trying to help you." He took a step closer, only causing Sephiroth to jump back further. "No… you're a Turk. You're working for the Doctor. You're trying to trick me."

Vincent's jaw tightened, trying not to snap at the illogical child. How could he even think he worked for that monster? "Sephiroth, listen to me." He knelt in front of him. "I would never work for that man. He took someone very special from me. He's tortured me, and experimented on my body since before you were born. The only reasoning behind it was because he hated me. That or some kind of research. All I want to do now is help you get away from him. So you don't have to hurt anymore." Vincent reached a hand timidly towards Sephiroth. "I'm not going to hurt you… I promise."

Sephiroth stared from the hand, back to Vincent's face. He seemed sincere enough… but the child had learned early on - that told you nothing. "No." He shook his head, backing away again. "No, Turks lie." They were too good at it.

Vincent withdrew his hand a bit. "What? Sephiroth, I'm not-"

Sephiroth closed his eyes against him. "No… Turks lie, Turks lie… you can't trust them." It almost seemed like an agonized chant. Like he was trying to force himself to believe it. It didn't make any sense for Vincent to be tricking him, form the position he found him in, but Sephiroth hated Turks. How could he believe this one would be different? "TURKS LIE!" Sephiroth turned away from Vincent, running down the hall in the opposite direction.

Vincent jumped to his feet. He resisted the urge to call for him, and ran after the frightened child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: :cries: no Sephy don't run away... come baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack


	5. Chapter 5

Vincent sprinted after Sephiroth, only able to keep up enough to see where he was going. "(Why was he so afraid of him? Has the reputation of a Turk really slipped this much?)" His muscles didn't seem to want to work right. They shouldn't be hurting so soon. But I guess chasing after this quick little punk was decent exercise.

Vincent skidded around a corner, nearly toppling over when he finally caught up to Sephiroth, at a dead end. Not fully dead, I guess. The hallway was completely blocked off by a large door. Sephiroth was trying frantically to get it open. He yelped, when Vincent fell to his knees in front of him, panting.

Vincent tried to catch his breath. He breathed in deep, to at least try and speak. "Sephiroth." He wheezed. "Please… you have to-to believe me. I'm not… I'm not gonna-hurt you." Vincent reached up, grasping Sephiroth's arms, and squeezed gently. "I just wanna help you."

"You seem tired, Vincent."

Vincent's blood ran cold from hearing that screeching voice. He stood, turning towards him.

"Is keeping up with a small child too much for you? I can take him off your hands, if you want." He grinned wickedly, holding a hand out to Sephiroth. "Come to me, Sephiroth. Enough of these games." The voice was calm and gentle, but it could freeze your very soul.

Vincent glanced down at Sephiroth. Obviously his fear for the Doctor was far greater than his fear for him. He clung to his pants, eying the crowd of men, terror reflected in his wide green eyes. Vincent grasped Sephiroth's shoulder, pushing him further behind him. "He's not going anywhere with you, Hojo."

Sephiroth glanced up at Vincent. He knew the doctor's name? Not even he knew his name. Hojo lowered his hand, not losing that grin. "Now now, Vincent. It's not good to kidnap children. Now, be a good little toy, and return my son to me." Sephiroth's head snapped back towards the doctor. Son? What did he mean by-

"NO, HOJO!" Vincent snapped, nearly growling. "He's my son!" Vincent's hands trembled against Sephiroth's shoulders. "And I won't let you hurt him anymore."

Sephiroth looked up at Vincent in astonishment. It was odd enough that he seemed to know the doctor, enough to know his name… but… son? Was Vincent really his father? It would explain so much.

Hojo shook his head. "I thought we'd been through this."

"I don't care what you've said. Even if you were telling the truth, genetics mean nothing to me. Sephiroth is my son, and there's nothing you can do or say to change that."

Hojo's smile faded, his cold eyes threatening. "You're pathetic." He started to walk closer. To Sephiroth's surprise, Vincent backed away. "The only reason you want to claim him for your own, is because of that woman. You want to hold onto some shred of evidence that she cared for you in any way. When in reality, you and I both know it was never true." Vincent had backed into the door, Sephiroth wedged behind him. "The truth is, you were a channel for her shame. One look at you, and she foolishly felt guilty for your father's death. All you were was a penance." Hojo was right up on him now, trying to reach around Vincent for Sephiroth. "But I'd say she was vindicated, don't you? After all, it is your fault Lucrecia is dead."

A black hand snapped around Hojo's throat, lifting him from the ground. All guns aimed at Vincent, but he didn't seem to notice. His golden eyes were flaring on the source of his hatred. A low growl slid from his throat.

Hojo just smiled at him. "There's my little monster. You truly are a beast, aren't you Vincent?"

The comment forced Vincent to drop him. Beast? Monster?

Hojo let out that nerve-wracking laugh, smartly moving back from the ex-Turk's reach. "Pathetic. Tell me, Vincent. Are you still hallucinating?"

"What?"

If it was even possible, Hojo's grinned turned more wicked. "You kept screaming about voices. Talking to them, as if they could actually hear you."

Vincent's brow furrowed. He didn't remember that. "If I have lost my mind, I thoroughly blame you."

"Oh please. Like you don't deserve it? Right?"

He motioned into the crowd, and a man with short cut blonde hair stepped out, aiming a gun straight at Vincent. "Perfectly worded, Professor."

Vincent's eyes widened a bit, on the new-comer. "T-Terry? What are you doing here?" His eyes narrowed in anger. "Why are you working for this monster?"

Terry shrugged. "He pays better."

"But, he betrayed one of your own."

"Wrong." Those green eyes narrowed on him, tripping the hammer on his gun. "I've walked in your shadow for too long, Valentine. I was thrilled to finally see you put in your place."

"What place?" He seemed a tad more at ease to see some of the other Turks in the crowd, murmuring among each other, seemingly unsure of the circumstances now. He didn't recognize all of them, but enough seemed to recognize him. "We worked together. We were a team."

"Save it. You always looked down on me. You say we were equals, but you never thought of us as such. Now, look how the tables have turned. I'm finally better, and you're reduced to nothing more than a trapped animal."

"You're nothing but a traitor." Vincent slid the gun from the front of his pants, and aimed it towards Terry. Not even realizing that Sephiroth had left him and was trying to get the door open.

Hojo laughed. "How do you intend to take on all of us?"

"I'll just have to improvise." He felt Sephiroth pull on his lab coat, coaxing him closer towards him. What was this kid up to?

"You're not that strong, Vincent."

"I don't have to be." He froze momentarily, feeling Sephiroth reach into the back of the lab coat, pulling at the gun. Uh oh. If he made any subtle movements to stop him, all the Turks in the crowd would be alerted If he made any sudden movements, everyone else would be. "What are you doing? Don't touch that." He whispered down to him, out of the corner of his mouth.

As if to give some sort of answer, Sephiroth mimicked Vincent's stance, and aimed the gun into the crowd. "Leave us alone." With no real expertise on shooting, the small child pulled the trigger, sending a bullet straight into Hojo's stomach. He lurched back into the crowd, screaming. The mob of men shrunk in to assist him.

Vincent stared wide eyed, down at Sephiroth, who seemed both shocked and thrilled by his actions. "Is he dead?"

"Who knows?" Vincent knelt next to him. "Give me back the gun."

Sephiroth did as Vincent told him, and pointed back to the door. "Look."

Vincent followed his motions and saw that the door was opened ever so slightly, being held so… by a fork?

"It was hard to get open, and I don't know how long it'll hold."

"Then let's go." Vincent clamped onto Sephiroth's arm, beginning to drag him through as a barrage of bullets rained in at them.

Vincent pulled the fork out, and the door slammed closed. He fell against the door, holding Sephiroth to him. "Let's not touch the gun again, I don't care how effective it was."

"Ok."

From the other side of the door they heard Hojo shout with fury. "SEAL THE DOORS! And get to work on this one."

One by one, from the other side of the hall, steel doors began to slide into place, closing them in. Vincent picked up Sephiroth, and started to run down the corridor There was another hallway going from this one, a little over halfway down. If he could get to it, before it closed him in, then maybe they could get away.

Maybe he was imagining things, but they seemed to close faster, as he went through them. Vincent had to sprint, and jump through the opening before it sealed him in. Finally, a steal door, closed too fast for him to get through to the other side. "NO!" Vincent dropped Sephiroth to the ground and started banging on the door. "NONONONONO!" He tried to slip his fingers in the slits, and pry the door open, but it was no use. He wasn't strong enough, and didn't think he ever was to open this door. "DAMMIT!" Vincent pounded his fist into the door, falling to the ground. "We were so close." His head fell against the cold steel, pressing into the headache that was forming.

Sephiroth watched Vincent, feeling sadder, as he seemed to give up. He ran up to the door, and started pounding on it. Hoping, maybe, it would break.

Vincent glanced over at him, pushing back his own tears. He wiped his eyes, placing a hand on the child's arm. "Stop. It's not working."

"But, we can't just give up." He turned sharply to him. "You said, you'd get me out of here. And I believed you. You can't give up."

Vincent smiled sadly "I did say that, didn't I?" He pulled Sephiroth into him, until he was sitting on his lap. "I'm not giving up. I promise to protect you. I won't let anything happen to you."

Sephiroth wiped his nose. "I'm sorry, Vincent."

"For what?"

He looked up at him. "If I didn't run from you, we wouldn't have been caught."

Yea, probably. If he'd just stayed with him, there was a chance they may not've been caught, but who really knows.

"I should've known I could trust you. My real daddy would never hurt me."

Vincent's heart stopped. He felt like he was going to cry again… did Sephiroth really just call him his daddy? Daww. The gunner pulled the child into his arms, squeezing him tighter. "We're going to get out of here." Vincent sighed, starting to stand. "First, we have to get through these doors."

Sephiroth poked the back of his leg. "OWCH." That shouldn't have hurt that much.

Vincent glanced back at Sephiroth, who was looking at his fingers. "You're bleeding."

"I am?" His gaze fell down to the back of his leg. There was a steady trail of blood running down to his heel. "Well, I'll be damned."

Sephiroth knelt with him, to examine his leg. "What happened?"

"It looks like a bullet caught me." Vincent ripped off the bottom of his pants. Yep… that was a bullet hole.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not at the moment." Vincent wiped the blood off his leg. He pushed a small piece of the cloth into the hole, cringing a bit as he did so. He wrapped the rest around, and tied it off. "But it will." Vincent stood, ignoring the bruised ache that was starting to form. He tested the walls, trying to decipher how to get though. He could hear the noise of the crowd, beginning to break through the other doors.

Vincent banged on the door. He felt a slight give with his left hand, and diverted it into a punch. He shook the sting from his fist. There was a large dent in the steel.

Sephiroth's eyes widened. "Wow. How'd you do that?"

"I don't know." Vincent glanced down at his hand. Something just seemed to tell him to use his left hand. An odd voice, reciting how to harness the power in it. Vincent punched the door again, pushing the dent in more. He smiled. "We're getting out of here, Sephiroth."

Vincent took a stronger stance, pulling his fist back more. He failed to notice the violet aura radiating from it, and slammed his fist into the dent again. The shock wave from the impact, sent both of them, flying back into the opposite door. A large dent rested where Vincent's body hit the steel. They both stared in astonishment. A hole had been burned right through the thick door. But not just that one, on through the rest of the doors, down the hall.

Sephiroth turned to Vincent, jaw agape. "I suppose you don't know how you did that one, either, right?"

A half hysteric smile tweaked Vincent's lips, as he shook his head, laughing slightly.

"What are you?"

"Not… sure… let's go." He grasped Sephiroth's hand, pulling him through the gaping holes through the next two doors, and on down the opposite corridor In fact, this worked out perfectly. With all of them opened, there was no way for them to know which way they went. Vincent tried to hide the ironic grin. He knew that Hojo was the reason he was now able to do that, there was no doubt on the matter, but he would love to see the look at the deranged scientists face when he saw it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: YES! Bullet for Hojo. FUCK YOU! In case you can't tell yet, I hate that man. Most likely because he is the bane of all my fav character's existance, but apparently I have an internal hatred for all his type. Hojo tops the list tho.
> 
> OMG the look on Vincent's face is priceless, i so wanna draw it now


	6. Chapter 6

It wasn't long before the other men managed to make their way down to where Vincent and Sephiroth had been, and it was indeed unfortunate that Vincent couldn't see their expressions.

Hojo held a hand to his side, where the bullet had caught him. He started to climb through the holes, and stopped at the entrance to the second corridor looking down. Glancing back and forth from the hallway and on down to the other end. Calmly, he turned to the men gathering around him. "Why are you all just standing around?"

"But, Sir. Which way did they-"

"That'd be a good thing to find out now wouldn't it? Why don't you imbeciles start by SPLITTING UP!"

The entire group jumped when he raised his voice, scattering like cockroaches. "I want that boy back within the hour." He cringed, holding his hand tighter over the wound. "And I want Vincent dead."

xXx

"Vincent, you don't have to carry me." Not that Sephiroth was really minding that part, but Vincent was hurt. He seemed tired, and was perspiring pretty profusely.

"It's fine."

"But your leg."

Vincent shook his head. "I've got more important things to worry about. Just stay quiet." He darted down another corridor Out of nowhere, a chill cut through Vincent's nerves. He spun sharply, clutching Sephiroth tighter to him. What was this feeling? His gleaming eyes flitted back and forth, trying to find where it was coming from.

"Ok." Vincent sighed, setting Sephiroth on the floor. He pulled the gun from his pants, holding it ready, the other hand drawing Sephiroth close to his side.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Something's not right here." They crept slowly down the hall, trying to tread quietly. Some unknown force stirred inside of Vincent. He didn't know what it was, but something wanted to react.

"(What is this feeling?)"

Sephiroth clung to the coat hanging off of Vincent. He didn't like how tense he was all of a sudden. It made him nervous. "Is it a guard?"

"I'm not sure." Vincent whispered, gripping tighter to the gun.

Vincent leaned against the wall and, peered around the next corridor.

It wasn't until he pulled Sephiroth around with him that he started to realize where they were. It was a series of what seemed to be a storage facility for the labs. The walls were lined with glass cabinets, each shining with the same green light that was reflected within the chamber he was found in.

Vincent's eyes fell on them, seemingly entranced by the different bobbles floating in the liquid.

Sephiroth stared at them as well, the light only enhancing the glow of his eyes. "What are they?"

Vincent stepped closer, reaching a hand towards the glass. "I think… they're specimens. Maybe for experiments." Once his hand touched the cool glass, it was as if a bolt shot straight into his brain. A yell of both surprise and pain escaped his throat in a low growl. The gun clattered against the tiled floor, his hands snapping up to his head.

"Vincent?" Sephiroth took a step back, almost afraid again.

Another growl escaped Vincent as he collapsed to his knees. The fire seemed to split to burn in both his head and stomach. What was happening? It almost felt as if the fire had claws that were trying to rip it's way out of his body.

"Vincent? Are you ok? What's wrong?" He went to grab his shoulders when a hand snapped up around his wrist. The grip was tight, but not quite enough to really hurt.

Vincent breathed in heavily "Don't….. touch… me." His voice sounded more a growl than his normal one, forcing Sephiroth to draw back. He pulled from Vincent's grip, and backed up against the glass, holding his wrist. He started to tremble more from worry than anything else. What was wrong with him? "Vincent?" He whispered softly. "Don't leave me."

Vincent's head snapped up to him. His face was contorted in what appeared to be rage, the golden gleam in his eyes making the small child gasp in fear. "Please, don't leave me." He sobbed, pulling his arms around himself.

A mix of red swirled strongly over the golden color. Vincent's breathing was still ragged, but at least he sounded like himself. He groaned, raking a hand through his hair. A sharp pain pierced the back of his leg. With a more human growl this time, Vincent ripped away the wrappings around his wound. He cringed when it pulled at his skin, feeling tighter than it should have been. To his surprise the bullet wound was no longer bleeding. In fact, it seemed to be closing.

"V-Vin-cent?" Sephiroth took a step closer, still a bit wary.

"I'm fine." Vincent sighed. He glanced back up at the specimens floating behind the sheen of green. What was happening to him? This was something he'd never experienced before. Sephiroth settled down to sit on the floor next to him. Vincent put an arm around him and whispered, "Hojo, what the hell did you do to me?"

"A valid question. Too bad you won't live long enough to find out."

Vincent's head snapped up, his arms drawing Sephiroth closer to him. Terry was standing towards the end of the hall, in the direction they had just came. He, and a small mob of men, each had their guns drawn on them. "I thought for a while that the Professor would want you back alive, seeing as how you have valuable specimens inside you, but it seems you've grown too bothersome. He's ordered your elimination."

Sephiroth clung tighter to Vincent. He may not have known him for long, but Vincent seemed to be the only one the small child didn't wish death on.

Vincent just laughed. A strange sound that made them both shiver. "Believe me, I'd be all for it. I don't know what all Hojo did to me, and I don't want to live long enough to remember. But there's a slight snag in that logic." He glanced down at Sephiroth, who didn't seem to like what he was saying. "I promised this child here that I'd protect him. That no matter what it took, I'd make sure he got away from this hell hole." He glanced back at Terry, the white's of his eyes corroded with gold. "And I'm not one to break my promises."

As if to say 'too bad' Terry fired off a shot. The bullet rang out against the tile floor, hitting where Vincent had just been. The ex-Turk was standing off to the side, Sephiroth cradled in his arms, not even seeming to care that his back was now to them. Two fangs glistened at Terry as he smiled. "You missed."

A chill ran through the Turk's body, as he fired again. This time he caught what happened. Vincent seemed to vanish in a wisp of smoke, only to reappear right behind him. A black hand snapped around his neck, poking the long claws into his skin. "Tell me, Terry." His voice seemed tainted again. Deeper, and a tad more ragged. "What's it like to not only be inadequate to me… but afraid?"

Sephiroth clung to Vincent's waist, wishing he'd stop talking like that. What was wrong with him?

Terry managed to twist his gun arm around and fired at Vincent, only to have him dodge again. He rubbed his neck, breathing harsh. "What're you all waiting for!? FIRE!"

A barrage of bullets echoed through the small hallway. However, none of them seemed to have any effect. Vincent still managed to dodge them all, though none of them could even see him move.

At least one of the bullets crashed into the specimen jars, shattering the glass, and spilling the gooey creatures and liquid all over the tiled floor.

Vincent finally stopped moving.

A pulse echoed through his body, forcing him to drop Sephiroth. The small child fell to his hands and knees, with a splash into the green liquid. He looked at the glowing green corroding his palm. A sudden terror washed over him, and his gaze shot back up to Vincent. His entire body was shaking, the only trace of red still in his eyes seeming to flicker back and forth between a deep golden color. He let out that un-human growl again, hands pressing in on the side of his head. Sephiroth's fear was growing. He could feel Vincent falling further and further away from him. He looked around at the flipping critters, and he knew. It was these things. For some reason, being around these creatures makes him crazy. He had to get him out of here.

Terry laughed, closing in, his gun drawn. "Who's afraid now, Valentine?"

In a literal flash, Vincent was standing over one of his subordinates, splattered in blood. The subordinate lay on the ground, broken in half. His head slowly twisted towards him, skin paler than usual, his eyes now glowing with a fierce gold. Sharp fangs glistened from behind his lips as he spoke. "You were saying?"

Sephiroth cringed. That didn't sound anything like Vincent anymore. What was happening?

With the men frozen in fear, Sephiroth managed to jump to his feet, and grab Vincent's arm. He dragged him down the hall, the way he thought they were going, and on around the corner.

It took them a while to get far enough away from the area, until Vincent fell to the ground behind him, forcing him to stop. "Vincent?" Sephiroth turned around, falling to his knees, next to Vincent. His skin was burning up. His breathing ragged, but at least it sounded more like himself. "Vincent, please. You can't leave me. VINCENT!"

"Shh." Vincent held a hand up to him, his voice not wanting to work. He tried to push himself onto his knees, arms shaking.

Sephiroth sat a little ways back, not sure what to make of the situation. "Vincent?"

Vincent looked around at their surroundings. "Where are we?" His throat felt like it was on fire, and it hurt to talk. "Where's Terry?"

Sephiroth nearly broke into tears, throwing his arms around the ex-Turk's neck. "Vincent, you're ok!"

"Seph?" He hugged the small child back, a little concerned at why he was so scared. "What's-" Something seemed to catch his senses, and Vincent 's head snapped back in the direction they came, clutching Sephiroth tighter.

"What is it?"

"Shh." Soon after, Vincent lifted the frail body up into his arms and ran. He cut around a few corners, soon coming to a halt at a dead end. "Wait a minute." Vincent looked back. "Something's not right."

"Did we make a wrong turn?"

"I-I don't know. I don't think so." His paranoia chimed up stronger, sensing the approaching crowd. "No."

"Should we turn around?"

"We can't."

"Then what do we-"

Vincent clamped tighter to Sephiroth, and spun around. With another growl, he kicked the back wall with all his might.

Sephiroth winced, clinging to his neck.

Vincent kicked the wall a couple more times, his eyes narrowing as if examining it. "Hmm." He put Sephiroth down, and nudged him closer to the adjacent wall. "Stay put."

A sick feeling pushed in on his stomach. Vincent seemed mad that they were lost, and he knew it was his fault. He had most likely strayed from the path while he was leading Vincent away from the flopping creatures. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making my own path." Vincent walked up to the wall, knocking on it in different areas. He stepped back, and seemed to do some kind of flying spin kick, knocking a large dent in the wall. He jumped back again, jumping forward to kick in the dent again, knocking a small hole. He mostly just broke away the rest of the wall, until a large hole scarred the pristine white walls. One just big enough for him to fit through. He stuck his head in, looking up through the inner mechanisms of the wall. Vincent turned back to Sephiroth holding a hand out to him, his eyes contradicting the brutality of his recent actions. "Come on. We're getting out of here."

Sephiroth smiled, running forward to grab Vincent's hand. "Can you climb?"

"Uh, yea. But where are we going?"

"Up and out. As far as you can go."


	7. Chapter 7

They climbed for what felt like forever. There had been a load of ruckus behind them, when the hole was discovered. Anticipating some form of retribution. However, the noise had died down some time ago, but there was still no way of knowing what they were up to. Now the only sounds were the two's heavy breathing as they trudged up through the interiors of the wall. Using studs for footholds and trying to worm their way through the wiring crisscrossing the walls.

Soon, Sephiroth stopped, clinging to one of the beams to keep himself from slipping. He laid his head against the cool steel, trying to catch his breath. Vincent pulled up next to him, (He'd been under him in case he fell.) laying a hand across his head. "Come on, Seph. We can't stop now."

"But it feels like we've been climbing for months." Seph whined, adjusting his position to sit down on a nearby beam.

Vincent just smiled, settling onto another one. "Come now, that's an exaggeration."

"Where are we anyway?" Sephiroth looked around, eyes still just barely adjusting to the darkness, seeing as how small creeps of light enabled him to focus fully.

"No clue." Vincent brushed the sweat from his brow, finally realizing how much his breathing echoed in the small area. His eyes turned upwards, trying to see how far up they still had to go. He sighed, since there was no chance of knowing. "Tell ya what." Vincent stood back up, swinging around on one of the beams, and positioned himself to continue climbing. "I'll go on ahead, and see if I can scout out where we are. Maybe there's another way to get higher."

"No!" Sephiroth lunged forward and clamped onto his leg. At first Vincent thought he'd fallen, and soon realized that he probably would have if he'd missed. "Don't leave me here. I don't want to be alone."

It took him a bit, but Vincent was finally able to force a smile. He settled back down, tracing a hand against the side of his face. "It'll be ok, Seph. I won't go too far, and you'll be safe here."

Sephiroth grabbed his hand. "No, I won't. You heard them down there, they already know we're in the wall. What if they find me and you're still gone?"

"Ok, then. If you're that scared, then you can just co-" Vincent felt his ear twitch, drawing his attention to the wall.

Sephiroth followed his gaze, then looked back to Vincent. "What's-"

Vincent's hand snapped over his mouth, pulling him closer into him. "Shh."

Sephiroth's ears strained to hear what was happening, and soon it became clear that there were people on the other side of the wall. They seemed to be trying to stay quiet, but there was a clear sound of their shoes on the ground. They had been whispering to each other, but stopped shortly, probably having figured that they were discovered.

There was an eternity of tense silence, from both sides. Sephiroth could feel Vincent's heart pounding against his back. His head gently slid out from under his hand, turning his eyes up to the stern expression on the older man's face. He was trying to think of something. He would think of something. Vincent would get them out of there. He just knew it. Sephiroth wanted to ask if he had any idea, but there was more noises on the other side. More footsteps were crowding the area, and a dull murmur seeped through the walls. Evidently, the ShinRa personal knew they had been found out, and weren't trying as hard to hide their presence.

The small hands gripping his arm, brought Vincent's attention back to the small child trembling in his arms. His mind raced to form some kind of solution. They could always start climbing again, but the acoustics inside the wall were nearly visual even to him. Who knows how they reverberated on the outside. Also, knowing the enemy as he did, there was an even better chance the Turks, or whoever was out there were flanking the next few floors above and below them. Depending on how fast they implemented their plan, they might not clear the danger zone in time. A low voice seemed to respond to his thoughts, making his eyes flick around to take in the surroundings as quickly as he could. Carefully, Vincent pried Sephiroth's hands off of him, and placed them on a nearby beam. Just over his head. He could tell by the green eyes that flicked around frantically, Sephiroth wasn't too clear on what was going on. Vincent placed his lips close to his ear, whispering, "Can you pull yourself up there?"

"What?" Sephiroth gasped, and Vincent shushed him again.

"Can you?"

"I-I think so, but."

"Just trust me." Vincent was trying to keep quiet, and stop Sephiroth from speaking. He wasn't as good at keeping his voice low. It's a good thing he was usually pretty good at dealing with children, in these types of situations. Not as good as his partner, but still pretty decent. At least he learned to be.

Sephiroth still wasn't sure what was going to happen, and was still shaken, but he did trust Vincent. Without any further arguments, Sephiroth pulled himself on up to sit on the beam over their heads, with Vincent pushing up on his feet.

With Sephiroth firmly in place, Vincent placed his ear to the wall, listening intently for any signs of movement. As his hearing adjusted against the wood grain, he slowly started to make out what was being plotted. There was obvious shuffling, and subtle hints of mutters. Something about a... battering ram? Maybe?

Something curled Vincent's lips into a vicious smirk. His right palm laid flat against the wooden interior, the left, pressing its knuckles against the wall. Somehow he could see them. The positions of the four men on the other side of the wall, and the small battering ram they held between them. Judging by the sound of their steps, he seemed to know how tall they stood, even the weight of the ram. Closing his eyes, Vincent drew back his fist. Sephiroth eyes widen at the sight of another flare of what seemed like violet fire surrounded his fist. He clutched tighter to a beam that was perpendicular to the one he was perched on.

Quietly, Vincent waited for it. The small sound of a shift, to show when they'd swing their ram. A creak, and Vincent's golden eyes snapped open again. He growled, slamming his punch into the wall, at the point of contact where they had weakened the wall from the other side. Though his force was stronger.

Caught in the weight of the swing, none of them could even attempt to get out of the way of the shock-wave and debris that flew out at them. Vincent leaped out of the hole, knocking down the remaining men that were still standing after the blast. His eyes having retained their natural crimson hue. Satisfied, that they were subdued, Vincent turned back to Sephiroth. He leaned through the hole, holding out his arms. "Jump!"

Only a seconds hesitation, and Sephiroth slid from his perch and settled into Vincent's arms, who spun around and ran down the corridor.

Another wave of men closed in on them. Low class peons in the company, but there were still a lot of them. With a kind of strength that neither of them really understood, the ex-Turk was able to hold the small child securely against him, and take down any opposing forces that stood in their way.

After a good while of running, Vincent started to realize something was differently familiar. He stopped, looking around. It became apparent that the floor under his feet was no longer tiled, but carpet. There were wooden doors lining the hall, as well as a very exquisite selection of paintings and wallpaper.

"What's wrong?"

"I know this place."

"What?"

Joy spread through him at the realization. "I know where we are."

Voices behind them showed that they had to hurry. Vincent glanced back, then broke into a dead run. He really did know these halls. They were in ShinRa. Freedom was so close he could almost taste it. But then what? This kid was too valuable to them. There was no way they were going to stop hunting them down. Plus there was the undoubted fact that Hojo now wanted him dead.

They needed somewhere to hide and a more extensive plan to keep Sephiroth away from them.

He needed help, but from where?

A thought clicked in his head. It was a long shot, but there was still a shot. However, the question still stood on whether or not he could risk it with Sephiroth.

He had to. There was no way he could keep doing this on his own. Groaning at his own helplessness, Vincent took a rather sharp, seemingly last second, turn and made his way to an elevator. Thinking how stupid this probably was, he jabbed the call button, looking fervently down the hall. "Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeoncome on."

When it finally came, Vincent threw Sephiroth in first and hit for the top floor. Or at least as high as this elevator went.

He sighed slumping against the wall.

Sephiroth looked fascinated by the buttons for a moment, then turned to looked at Vincent. "Why are we in an elevator? This seems a little obvious for them to catch us, isn't it?"

Vincent stared at him, a bit shocked that he seemed to be thinking the same thing he was. Soon, he just slumped to the ground and laughed. "Because, I'm tired."

"But-"

Vincent held a finger up to his lips, cutting off any further protests. "Let me delude myself for a moment, and believe that I actually know what I'm doing."

Sephiroth took a moment to take in what he said, then his shoulders slumped. "You don't know what you're doing, do you?"

An almost mad grin spread across Vincent's face. "I'm starting to doubt that I ever did."

Noting the worry in those big green eyes, Vincent laughed, holding his arms out to him. "Come here." Sephiroth crossed over to him, sliding his arms around Vincent's waist. Vincent stroked a hand over his head. "Don't worry so much. I know what I need to do, I'm just a little fuzzy on the finer details."

"And the idea of the elevator?"

"I need to get up to the Turk commissioner's office. And these elevators are the only way of getting up there."

"Oh... wait." Sephiroth sat up, his eyes widened in confusion. "Why are we going up to the Turk commissioner's office?"

Vincent debated on telling him for a short while. His resolve quickly landed on the notion that he would find out eventually. It'd be no good to hide it from him. "I want to find a file that's stored in his office. I'm going to try to find someone that can help us."

Sephiroth didn't seem to like this idea. "Someone else?"

"It's ok." Vincent didn't think he would like the idea of having a third party come into their little group. He ran a hand through his hair, giving the thin shoulder a firm squeeze. "He can help us." A glint of concern flitted across Vincent's eyes. "If he's in a position to, that is."

Sephiroth peered up at Vincent. He looked sad. Did something bad happen to his friend? He reached up and brushed a hand over his cheek. Trying to wipe that sad look from Vincent's face. When Vincent glanced down at him, Sephiroth smiled.

Vincent smiled in return, and nodded. "We're going to be ok." He wasn't completely Sure of it himself, but it was always good to stay positive...

Right?

It was at that moment that an alarm echoed through the building, a red light flashing as the elevator shuddered to a halt. A voice sounded over the intercom: "Attention all ShinRa personnel. There is an escaped fugitive loose inside of the building. The suspect is assumed to be unarmed, but highly dangerous. Proceed with caution. Orders are to kill on sight, without harming the child that is with him. All hands are to report to active duty to assist in the capture of this man."

At the order of 'kill on sight' Sephiroth clung tighter to Vincent. Vincent groaned, hitting his head back against the wall. His lips still slightly curled in a wicked grin. "Great. Just great. Now what?" His brain reeled, half expecting the elevator to start going down at any moment. It was then that his eyes landed on the paneled ceiling of the elevator. "Ok. I'll just have to do this the hard way." He got to his feet and stood up on the railing to reach the ceiling. He was standing in the corner, one hand propped on the ceiling, to keep himself up, having to lean on a precarious angle to reach the paneling. The panels came off quite easily, and Vincent looked around the dark shaft. A bit surprised at his own flexibility, he pulled himself on up through. His feet hooked around the cable holding the elevator, and leaned back down, holding a hand down to Sephiroth.

The small child climbed up onto the handrail as well, and reached up for Vincent's hand. A sudden scrape against the steel door of the elevator dragged his attention to it. The doors started to separate. As though pried open from the other side.

Vincent snapped his fingers. "Hurry!" Sephiroth reached out for his hand, allowing him to pull him on up. Vincent settled the small child on top of the elevator, and slid the panel back in place. He went to work fiddling with the mechanism along the wall, right under where the door would be. They could hear a small cluster of people filing in below. There were mutters of confusion. Unsure of where their target had disappeared to.

"What are you doing?"

"There should be a fail-safe mechanism to open the door from the inside. Unless they changed this procedure... then..."

"You idiots!" A voice boomed through the confusion. The hiss surrounding as though it were coming through a radio. "They've gone through the ceiling! Get your asses in gear and go after them!"

"Shit." Vincent growled. Having cameras all over the building used to help him find anyone who dared to break in. Now he was kinda starting to feel bad for them. It really sucked being on this side of it. Vincent hissed as a small shower of sparks burned his fingers, and the door just above his shoulders opened. They could hear scrambling as the troupe below started to work on the paneling they had crawled through. Vincent lifted Sephiroth through the door first, and started to climb up. At least he tried to, but one of them had made it up and grabbed his leg, dragging him back down into the elevator.

Sephiroth dropped to his knees, trying to reach out for his hand, but missed. "Vincent!"

After of fair bit of wrestling for dominance, two rather large guards pinned Vincent against the back wall. They both had firm grips on his arms, shoulders forced back into the wall. The impact knocked his head into a slight daze. Attention brought fully back with the click of a handgun in his face. "Try anything funny and your brains will decorate this wall."

Vincent smirked. "Look at you, trying to be a badass." His voice slid out in a soft silky growl. "What's the point in threatening me? I already know you have orders to kill me. So go ahead." His eyes started to ting a pale violet color. Giving them a near psychotic gleam. Emphasized by the low angle of his head. The dark sheet of hair falling over one eye. "Shoot me."

A collective chill rushed through the guards. Even the ones holding him momentarily loosened their grip. The man with the gun held his hand strong. "Don't test me."

"Do it."

The guards eyes narrowed. A tense dull muttering started behind him. Some wanted to bolt. Others might possibly have recognized him as a former colleague. Even still, all were scared.

The grin, on Vincent's face, melted into a sneer. "Come on. Shoot me."

"Shut up."

"SHOOT ME!"

"VINCENT!"

Vincent's head snapped up to Sephiroth. Ignoring the continued muttering at the sound of his name. "What are you doing? Run!"

"But-"

"Just run. I'll be right behind ya." The wicked grin turned back to the guard with the gun trained on him.

The guard scoffed. "I don't know what you think your going to do, but you-"

Vincent's smirk turned a touch sweeter, making those violet eyes gleam up at him again. "I think I can even take you out with his strength. Heha At least show him how to use it."

"What?"

Vincent's leg snapped up and kicked the gun arm. The sudden movement startled him into shooting the man on Vincent's left. With him gone, his free hand grasped the railing for leverage, and swung the man to his right into the wall, catching the guard with the gun on the way. He stood up tall, eying the other men. At least he assumed they were men. Who knew? These humans all looked alike. A couple of them ran instantly. He might have gone after them, but others were still in the way. One of them dared to shoot him in the shoulder, and his arm broke. Radius and Ulna both jutting through the skin before the shooter even knew what hit him. Vincent's free hand grabbed his head and smashed it into the wall. Splitting his skull on the railing. A swift kick splatted another into the opposite wall.

The three remaining guards bolted, and Vincent took off after them. His hands flew out and caught two of them by the back of the head. Slamming their faces into the ground. Before he could think twice about it, his feet landed on their backs, and their heads had come off. His eye flicked up to the retreating back that rounded the corner. Vincent rushed forward, and slid into range, pegging the guard in the shoulder with one of the heads. He rubbed the sore spot and screamed, when he saw what was behind him. Oh... maybe it was a woman.

The guard scrambled to it's feet, and ran into a nearby room. It must have barred the door because by the time Vincent got to the door, it wouldn't open. However, any burst of strength he may have had faltered. Vincent was suddenly short of breath, and very tired. He dropped to his knees, panting. Sweat beading down his face. There was a sharp pain in his shoulder. His hands wrung around the doorknob, head falling against the cool wood of the door. He felt a bit dazed, and confused. The only clear vision in his head was the fading sound of chilling laughter.

How exactly did he get out here? Where was Sephiroth?

"Sephiroth." Vincent glanced around the area. He thought he heard crying on the other side of the door. Was Sephiroth in there? Vincent knocked on the door. "Sephiroth?"

"GO AWAY!" He heard what sounded like a man's voice screech from the other side. That wasn't him. Vincent weakly pushed himself up, having to use the wall for full support.

Gunshots rang out somewhere above him. A brief panic floated towards Sephiroth. They couldn't possibly be shooting at him, could they. Hojo wanted him back unharmed. As suddenly as it had started, then gunfire stopped. What were they shooting at?

There was a sound of feet approaching, but soon some of them screamed, and the feet were overshadowed by hysterics. Vincent's eyes slowly scanned the hall, trying to get his bearings. The signs, and landmarks along the corridor suggesting he was on the tenth floor. He was caught. If he hadn't yet left the floor he was on, Sephiroth should be on the floor above him. If he was correct, there should be a flight of stairs somewhere aroun-

Was that a head?

Vincent's stomach churned at the sight of a disregarded head settled only a few feet away from him. The skin around the neck looked as tho it had been torn. A small tail of spine trailing from it. Guess that explained the blood splattered on the wall.

A hand snapped to his ear as it started ringing. That chilling laughter filled his head again. "Oops."

He really didn't think he wanted to know what happened. One hand propped on his wounded shoulder, Vincent pushed from the wall, and headed towards the staircase a few turns down. He was exhausted, but he had to find Sephiroth. Hopefully he had thought to run, or they would have caught him by now. Vincent dragged himself up along the railing of the stairwell, finding even the effort of climbing stairs to drain him further.

But he couldn't stop now. He had to find Sephiroth. He had to get to the commissioner's office. He had to seek help for him and Sephiroth. He needed to rest. He was injured, and weak. Why was he so weak? What had he done to cause this drain? Was he still not recovered from his time asleep? His strength was so wishy washy.

Vincent slumped on the stairs, trying to cushion his fall, but his head hit the corner of one of the stairs. He couldn't stop here. He was out in the open. They would find him. Find Sephiroth. He would die, and then who would help Sephiroth?

"No." He growled at himself, trying to push himself up. "Get up, get up, get up." He was somewhere between floors ten and eleven. The commissioner's office was on the sixty-sixth floor. When the math of that distance hit his brain, Vincent's arms gave out again. So far. Maybe he should just forget about heading up there for something so fleeting, find Sephiroth and just get out?

No. Vincent shook his head. The information he needed was classified. He could only get it in ShinRa. They wouldn't make it on their own, and he knew it. If he didn't try now, there would be no other chance. "Get up." He growled at himself again, pushing up with the last bit of his strength. He had just managed to get a hand on the railing when he heard a voice just outside the tenth floor door. "Seal off the other doors. I'll check the stairwell."

Vincent's heart thundered in his chest. Someone was coming. He was going to be caught, and didn't have the strength to fight them off.

The door he had come through burst open, and a rifle trained on his through the bars. Instinctively, Vincent's hand snapped to the gun still nestled in the hem of his pants. Unfortunately, he collapsed onto the stairs. Trying to aim, but was shaking.

"It is you."

"Huh." Vincent couldn't quite make out who it was, but the voice seemed familiar. His mind reeled to place a name. "E... E-ryn."

She lowered the gun and ran up the stairs. Dropping to her knees next to Vincent. "I don't believe it. You're alive."

Vincent still had his gun trained on the red-haired Turk. They may have gotten along relatively well before, but she still had her orders.

"Where have you been?"

Vincent tried to inch up the stairs. "Stay away, or I'll shoot."

Eryn shook her head. "I don't dare risk that, but I won't hurt you."

"Don't try to trick me. You can't disobey orders."

"I can when I'm not being watched." Eryn switched the safety on, and dropped her gun down the stairs.

Vincent watched her in confusion.

"You know as well as I do that most of this job is following what your heart says. And my heart tells me your not as dangerous as they say."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"If you're going to shoot me, then go ahead. This place echos, and you don't have a silencer on that gun. They'd be on you within minutes."

Vincent sighed, putting the gun away. "We both know I'm not going to, but I can't let you help me."

"I can't do much, but I'm going to do what I can." She plucked a green Materia from her pocket, and held it towards Vincent. A green spark flooded around him, spreading a comforting warmth over him. Healing what was left of the bullet holes, and draining his exhaustion.

They sat quietly while the magic did it's work. "Thank you, Eryn. It's good to know someone's still on my side."

"Once a Turk, always a Turk. We stick together." When the energy dispersed, Eryn held the green orb out to him. "You might need it."

Vincent shook his head. "I can't take that. They'll know you helped me."

"It's a low level Restore. We lose these things all the time. I actually swiped this from one of the guards."

Vincent hesitated on the offer, then wrapped his hand around the Materia. "This is it. I can't let you help me again."

"I won't." Eryn's face flushed slightly. She had always liked Vincent, but knew it could never happen. So whatever feelings there were just dissolved into fleeting affection. "I have so many things I want to ask you. You disappeared so suddenly."

"There's no time to try and explain."

"I know. Just... be careful." Eryn pulled her hand back, and they both stood.

"Do you know where Sephiroth is?"

"Sephiroth?" Eryn had gone down to retrieve her gun. She slung the strap over her shoulder, and turned back up towards him.

"The child I'm with."

She shook her head. "There's been no reports of him being found. It's too dangerous to look for him. You should just get out."

Vincent shook his head, taking a step towards her. "I can't leave without him. I also need to get up to the commissioner's office... unless you can tell me where Shane and Ren are."

Eryn stared up at him. Her face went suddenly pale. Soon her eyes dropped to the stairwell. Hand wringing the gunstrap. "Ren's retired. I'm afraid I don't know where to. ShinRa always keeps track of their ex operatives, though. So you should be able to find the information." She paused, as if unsure of where to proceed next. So Vincent asked, albeit afraid to know. "And Shane?"

She was quiet for a moment longer, then finally looked back up to him. A sort of steel in her eyes. "You'd be better to just try and find Ren."

Vincent's heart dropped into his stomach. "Hold on. What happened to him?"

"I need to report back." She cut him off, heading for the door. "I'll report that there's no sign of you here. They'll block the stairwell to keep you from getting in. You should have free range. These stairs go up to the fifty-ninth floor. From there, you're on your own."

"I still need to find Sephiroth."

"I'll keep an eye out for him. Maybe I can protect him, and try to direct him in your direction."

Vincent shook his head. "He won't trust you. And I don't want you to anyway. You've already risked enough helping me."

Eryn sneered at him, clenching her fists. "I know how to cover my tracks. Do what you will, then... Just be careful." She turned towards the door, readying to exit. "The next time we meet. I will most likely have to shoot you."

"Hopefully." Vincent smiled. "I trust your aim."

A small smile touched Eryn's lips. "I'm happy your alive, Vincent." With that she ran out the door. Calling something about seeing Vincent get off on the eighth floor. He must be heading for the lobby.

Vincent laughed lightly, to himself. She really was good. He pocketed the Materia and rushed up the stairs.

xXx

"Just run. I'll be right behind ya."

Sephiroth hesitated. They caught him. Vincent was in trouble. They were going to kill him. He had to do something.

"Don't move kid." Sephiroth looked up at sound of a barrel cocked to his head. How had he allowed some faceless guard sneak up on him like that? He'd been trained better.

The guard turned into a radio on his shoulder. "Professor. I found the child."

"Good."

Sephiroth's blood ran cold at the sound of the Doctor's voice.

"Hold him till I get there."

"Yes sir."

Sephiroth gasped, and moved to stand.

"Don't move." The guard held the gun at him again, pinning the small child to the wall.

There was a commotion down in the elevator, and Seph looked down at what he could see to try and determine if Vincent was alright. He wasn't in visual range, but at least his screams weren't the one he was hearing.

He had to get away and find Vincent. Panic set in and nothing was coming to mind. There was a guard here with a very large gun trained on him. The Doctor was on his way there now and he'd- Wait a minute... Something just occurred to him. What was this guy doing with a gun trained on him? The doctor specifically requested he not be harmed. At least not until he got to him, that is. With the threat of the big gun out of the way, this guy was a push over. So, Sephiroth hauled off and kicked the man in the balls. When his head was low enough, he kneed him in the forehead, knocking him out, and hurting his knee.

"owowowowowow." Sephiroth limped a little ways away. He saw the gun sitting on the ground, and picked it up. Maybe he could shoot out the cameras so he can figure out a way back to Vincent.

Wait, Vincent said he shouldn't touch guns. So he put it back, and started riffling through the guards belongings. He recognized one of the devices in his pocket as a map type device that Vincent used earlier. Let's see if he can remember how to use it. Sephiroth punched in the buttons the way he saw Vincent do earlier. Vincent had said he wanted to go to the Turk Commissioner's office. He had to find that. It took a bit of finagling, but once he found the menu, it was pretty straight forward. Each floor was divided into sectors, on a neat little model of the building. He didn't realize the ShinRa building was so large.

"Hey you!"

Sephiroth's head snapped up at a few more guards heading his way. Oh yea, He was out in the open. Sephiroth ran at the men, leaped off of the wall, and kicked one of them in the side of the head. That one fell into another, and the third had his legs swept out, as Sephiroth landed. Sephiroth hooked his legs around the forth's neck and vaulted him into the ground. Another guard apparently didn't get the memo, and started shooting at him. Sephiroth ducked under the gun and grabbed his arm, using it to shoot down the rest of the men... and the camera's while he was at it. Hey he wasn't touching the gun. With the group of highly trained guards successfully subdued by a five year old. Sephiroth slid back into the elevator shaft and sat down. Going over the device again. He had his back to the wall, so they couldn't see him unless they looked in.

It took a fair amount of searching but Sephiroth finally found the Commissioner's office. On the Sixty-sixth's floor.

His shoulders drooped. That was a long way up. If Vincent came looking for him here. It would be a long time till he could get back to check. Sephiroth curled up with the map type device. Hugging his knees to his chest. He didn't know what to do. Vincent said he'd be right behind him. Course he also told him to run. Should he wait here for him? Did he mean go ahead upstairs?

After a short while of quiet contemplation the elevator jerked. The door he had come through closed, and the elevator started to move downwards. Sephiroth's heart thundered. He didn't want to go down. He had to go up. Frantically, he looked around the elevator shaft. The only light coming from the elevator he was sitting on. Something came into view a little ways over. Off to the side of the elevator was what looked like a steel ladder. Running along the outter edge. It was probably for repairs of emergencies or something. Well, this was an emergency. Sephiroth jumped off the top of the elevator and clamped onto the ladder. He sat there for a moment to catch his breath and looked down at the retreating elevator. It looked like it was going all the way down. Sephiroth looked up at the dark shaft before him, and back down at the device, still in his hands. He sighed, pocketed the device (Just in case he'd need it later), and started to climb. Hoping he's meet Vincent somewhere along his trek upstairs.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: OH NO! THEY GOT SEPERATED! WHAT WILL HAPPEN!? YOU DON'T KNOW! i KNOW THO! THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS! WHAT I DON"T KNOW IS WHY I'M TALKING IN ALL CAPS!
> 
> So, fun side note tho. While Vin and Sephy were in the elevator together a song called "Father Figure: by George Micheals came on my computer. Now, I know this sounds all sweet and stuff, but that is not a song I needed to hear. It is actually a twisted seductive song, and it made me laugh far too hard for my own good. So yea. Enjoy that thought.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OH MEH GERD

Eryn was right about no one realizing he was in the stairwell. This area didn't have any cameras in the stairs, which he always thought was a major design flaw. You'd think the stairs wold be the number one place to monitor, since they had access to most floors in the building, but hey, he wasn't going to knock it. That little flaw was a huge assist for him in this juncture. Although, one thing they did think of was a full lock on every door leading into the stairwell. To, as Eryn said, keep anyone from getting in. Or, in this case, out. Vincent wasn't able to check and see if Sephiroth was on the tenth floor or not. He had no way of getting through the door. Well, he had his gun, but that would be a big tip off to his location. He couldn't risk being caught like that. With the help of his old friend, the search would be directed more to the lower levels. Once Vincent got to the fifty-ninth floor he should be far enough away to shoot the lock off. Course that still left the issues of getting the clearance cards to proceed higher, but that was an issue he'd face when he got to it.  
  
Vincent ran as fast as he could up the stairs. It was certainly a long way, and he kept expecting his legs to give out, but his resolve kept them moving through the ache forming in his thighs. Sephiroth was still somewhere out there. Alone. The paranoia this knowledge caused just built up the determination. Hopefully once he got the information he needed he could locate Sephiroth then. This is not how he wanted to handle this. Stupid idea. His experience told him that the best laid plans were typically seventy percent improvisation. Although this time was reaching around ninety-five... ninety-eight. Those were not good odds.  
  
A large chunk of his brain was telling him to go back and find Sephiroth, no matter what the risk. But a logical part was telling him not to. Bringing attention to himself now, and stirring the Turks to his location was a very bad idea. He had a better chance to find the information he needed first, then find Sephiroth and make his way from the building. It was illogical to look for the child first. He was probably hiding anyway. Sephiroth was a smart kid. He had directed him away from the range of guards before. He could avoid them. Knowing Hojo, there was a very good chance he'd done something to make this kid resilient. Yea. Sephiroth would be fine on his own, for a while. He was hiding. He was running. Sephiroth could do something to keep himself from getting caught. Vincent was going to keep telling himself that to keep his mind from the alternative.  
  
Like, how stable was Sephiroth, psychologically?  
  
He already saw a touch of that earlier. When he freaked out from learning Vincent was a Turk. If they scare him enough then he may freeze. He's seen examples before of how much a mental handicap can bring down even the strongest of men. His partner was afraid of heights. That caused problems more than a few times. His brain would lock up at any elevation over ten feet. Sephiroth could possibly have a similar reaction. But was he afraid enough of Turks to freeze? No. He ran from Vincent, and only had a nervous breakdown because he had trusted him. But in that case, was there something he was afraid of? Hojo was a possibility, but he was most likely laid up. A bullet to the gut was certainly a debilitating wound. Something he knew from experience. Hojo was going to be down for about a week. That much was certain. With him out of the picture they might have a better chance of getting away.  
  
Yea. Sephiroth would be fine. Even still, it might be a good idea to hurry up with his little side quest and get the hell out of there. Good thing he knew how to navigate this building. But how was he going to find Sephiroth on the way back?  
  
Vincent slowed down, gently trotting to a halt. He turned back down the stairs, heavy breaths echoing through the stairwell. Would it be worth it to try and find him first? No. He was already pretty far up. It'd be impractical to head back now. What floor was he on anyway? There was no indicators in here, and Vincent certainly wasn't keeping count.  
  
Oh well. It was typically harder to stop, then continue running, but somehow Vincent's legs stopped being tired the moment he stopped running. In fact, he actually felt like he was faster. He could do this quick enough. Vincent knew exactly where the information he needed was. He just had to find who had the clearance cards... and hope they were on that floor. Most likely everyone that would have the card would possibly be looking for him. Screw it. He'd break the doors down if he had to.  
  
Vincent continued to run through the plan in his head, and his feet carried him on up the long trek of stairs. Continuing to tell himself that Sephiroth was going to be ok. If he didn't keep convincing his brain of this, then there was a good chance he'd turn around. Doing that would make the progress he had made superfluous.  
  
A good while later, Vincent ran into a door. There were doors all along the stairwell, but this time the door stopped him from going any further. This must be it. Finally, he'd reached the fifty-ninth floor. Vincent plucked the gun out of the font of his pants, and aimed for the lock. It was now or never. He cocked the hammer, and froze. There were voices on the other side of the door. Vincent crept closer and listened at the door. It was difficult to make out what they were saying, but there must have been three... maybe five men in there. Possible others that were not involved in the conversation.  
  
Still holding the gun at the ready, Vincent knocked on the door. Instantly, the talking stopped. Occasionally interjecting with confusion. Vincent decided to holster his gun and knocked again. There was some further muttering as someone moved closer to the door. "-sibly be in there."  
  
Vincent grasped the handle, propping his forearm against the door. There was a small -shink- noise, followed by a solid beep, and Vincent slammed his full weight into the door. Now unlocked, the door swung freely and nailed the man behind it. Stalled by their confusion, Vincent hauled off and punched another nearby guard in the face. Again, Vincent relished in his knowledge of this building. He slid over to the nearest table, and grabbed a couple of books, throwing each, like a frisby, to take out the two cameras this area was in sight of. A guard stepped up, trying to punch him, but Vincent grabbed his fist. His dragged the fist straight down, positioning his knee so that the guards head cracked off of it, and side kicked another stupid enough to attack him, in the gut. The man oofed, stuttering backwards, and Vincent stood up and punched him square in the jaw. Rattling some teeth, and knocking him out. There was a brief notice that he's never been able to knock a man cold with a single hit, but that wasn't something that didn't currently warrant his attention.  
  
Three more left. Each pulled a gun on him. Vincent slipped under them, grabbed two of the guns and twisted them from the guard's hands. Possibly breaking a few fingers. He cracked them both upside the head with their own pistols, and they slumped. Blood staining their hair.  
  
"FREEZE!" The last guard shouted, a shaky arm aiming for him. He may have been in shock, and most likely easily overpowered, but he was also out of reach. Vincent put both of his hands up, balancing the two guns on his thumbs. The guard fumbled in his pocket for a radio.  
  
"I wouldn't do that." Vincent stated calmly. "I can't have you telling anyone I'm here, now."  
  
The guard had just put the radio to his lips, and lowered it. Feeling a chill run through him. "G-give me one good reason why I should listen to you?"  
  
Vincent smirked. He was always very good at intimidation. Yet another skill he picked up through the Turks. Doing interrogations and such. If nothing else, people always seemed to find his unnaturally red eyes intimidating. More so now that they glowed with the shine of Mako. (Of course, Vincent was not yet aware that he also had fangs.) "I would just be rather angry if you did." Vincent's skillful fingers slid over the two guns, disassembling them both one handed. The pieces clattered to the floor, making the guard jump. Vincent just laughed, pocketing the clips.  
  
"Don't!" The guard held his gun up more, both hands returning to it. "I said... don't move."  
  
Vincent's eyes flicked back up to the guard, the light catching his eyes quite masterfully. The snide grin still on his face, he laughed deep in his throat. "Or what?"  
  
"Or- or I'll have to shoot you."  
  
The smile wiped from Vincent's face, head raising up to look fully at the guard. His eyes narrowed. "I can't have that either, now can I?" Vincent wasn't putting on any show of having his hands up anymore. Instead he allowed his gaze to bore into the guard. "If you shoot me, it will hurt. Then I will be angry." Or it could kill him, but Vincent always loved using that logic. Most people thought he was a monster anyway, and by God he was going to use that to his advantage. Slowly, he started to walk towards the guard, watching as the resolve to shoot him faded. "I don't want to have to kill anyone, but if you shoot me, I might just have to snap your neck." Vincent's already deep voice continued to lower as he spoke. "Plus the noise may alert someone to my location."  
  
The guard backed away, until his legs met with the table. This seemed to jar his resolve enough to hold the gun back up at arms length. "Then my duty will be fulfilled, with your capture."  
  
Vincent's face widened to a more admiral expression. "That's very noble of you. I respect that." But he was in range now. With one quick motion, Vincent snatched the gun and punched him in the face. Possibly cracking a cheek bone. The guard collapsed to the ground, while Vincent salvaged the clip from his gun as well. "I just love underlings." He kind of felt bad for these people. If they were informed their target was formerly of he Turks, perhaps they could have prepared. Granted it may not have done much for them, but it'd be nice to give them some idea of what they were up against.  
  
Vincent proceeded to go through the guards pockets. He smashed all but one of their radios. Maybe if he kept one with him, he could get information of any news on Sephiroth. Plus there was the hope of them having to go far away to inform someone of his assault, with the radios broken. Well, after they come to. Course there was still the possibility of someone realizing the cameras were knocked out. That was unavoidable, but let's hope he would have their not seeing his actions as a bonus.  
  
Finally Vincent found a clearance card. He glanced over it and found a big black 62 printed on the back. He sighed, hoping for a higher number, but at least it was something.  
  
Vincent made his way to the adjacent staircase and started up. He'd still check the next two floors. Perhaps a few more nameless guards would be waiting for him to grace them with his presence.  
  
xXx  
  
Sephiroth hung on the rails of the ladder. He stopped to rest, hoping he could hold on till he regained his strength. The blueprint in the device he stole, from that guard, showed the elevator shaft reaching all the way to the top floor, but he had no clue where he was. Vincent was heading for the Turk Commissioner's office on the sixty-sixth floor. At least that's what he figured. Where else could Vincent be? He was too strong to be captured by the Doctor and his men. Then again they did order his death. In that case they wouldn't bother capturing him. Sephiroth shook this thought away. He couldn't think about that. Vincent was strong. They'd never be able to kill him. They'd never catch him. He was the greatest grown up in the world. Vincent was probably heading upstairs. He needed to meet him up there.  
  
Sephiroth looked up along the mechanics of the elevator shaft. There was still such a long way to go. Something shuddered the metal construct he was hanging from, nearly shaking him off. Something was moving. His eyes scanned down the elevator shaft, only able to make out a square shadow ascending with a small halo of light. There was a good chance this was the elevator, but why was it coming up? Who was in it? Was it coming up past where he was? Could he ride it, and not have to climb anymore?  
  
A slick smile inched across Sephiroth's face. It was getting very close, and didn't show signs of slowing down. All he'd have to do is quietly slip onto it, and he wouldn't have to climb anymore. That would be awesome. The elevator inched closer, and Sephiroth hung on the rails of the ladder. It would pass right by, without hitting him, so if he wasn't able to grab it, he'd be alright, but there was no chance he was gonna miss this. The elevator passed his feet, and he reached out a hand to grab the short rail, lining the top. He tried to move his feet, so as not to make a sound, but Sephiroth greatly misjudged how fast the elevator was going, and kicked the side a bit harder than he wanted.  
  
The small child froze, inching his ear closer to try and hear if they were aware of his presence. He had no way of knowing how many people were actually in there. However, there was no noise at all, coming from the inside. Unless you counted the cheesy elevator music that was playing. It may not have been too loud, but neither was Sephiroth's foot. Maybe it covered it up. Yea. Sure it did. He pulled himself up, with just the strength of his arms, until he could quietly climb up.  
  
Sephiroth sighed with relief at his mad skills, and folded his legs in. He pulled the electronic map, from his pocket, and skimmed over the small device. It said he was on the twenty-forth floor. Course, riding on the elevator, he was bound to get up a lot faster. That is, if the elevator didn't stop. Sephiroth scoffed. Why did they stop? They'd only gone up a couple floors from where he had been. That just wasn't fair.  
  
The elevator door dinged, and Sephiroth heard the men starting to file out of the elevator, muttering something to each other. What on Gaia were they doing? Sephiroth's eyes fell back down on the small device blinking in his hands, hoping someone would still be wanting to go up. He really didn't want to have to climb all the way up to the sixty-sixth floor. It was still so far away. Sephiroth gasped, when the elevator gave a sudden jerk. Much to his dismay, it started going down. "Oh, no." He whined, readying to jump back on the ladder. He couldn't very well let himself get dragged all the way to the bottom floor, as the elevator reset itself. It was then that something interesting caught his eye. As the elevator lowered down the shaft, one of the cables holding it was going up. (And not just 'up' from his downward perspective.) It was worth a shot at least. Sephiroth pocketed the device, and grabbed as tight as he could to the upward cable. It was a lot more difficult in practice than he had theorized. He had to grip really hard, and his hands kept wanting to slip. Sephiroth wrapped his legs around the cable, hoping that would improve his hold. It helped some, but doubt still sunk in about how long he'd be able to retain his grip. On the plus side, at least he was going up.  
  
xXx  
  
Three Turks, and numerous ShinRa guards filed out of the elevator, on the twenty-fifth floor, calling out battle tactics to one another. Hojo stepped out, following the horde of men, a surprisingly calm demeanor radiating from him. They were close. In fact, he should be a couple floors above his targets. "Flank the stairwells, and each elevator." He commanded his minions.  
  
"Yes sir." They saluted, as they filed through the halls to their intended destination.  
  
"Against my better judgment, I am trusting you enough to push your incompetency aside and catch them." He added, as an afterthought, eyes scanning the surroundings. Walls, ceiling, taking in the intensity of the lights. His fingers lightly traced along one of the doorknobs, mentally installing the notion to set traps along them. When his faith in these people backfired, maybe he could at least blow Vincent up. Hojo opened the door. His hand slipped from the doorknob, and into the pocket of his coat. He plucked out a small device, as his fingers juggled what looked like a glowing red marble. The device passed to his other hand, and the red marble into a hole in the edge of the door. Very carefully, Hojo closed the door, so as not to set it off prematurely. The crack in the door glowed briefly, then faded.  
  
Hojo glanced down at the small device, in his hand, flipping through the settings, to pinpoint the one he wanted. A thoughtful crease formed between his brow. The beacon he was tracking had appeared to move up to the floor they were currently on. Slowly, he started back towards the elevators. It was difficult to zoom into the schematic enough to know specific locations on each floor, but the target appeared to be further to the left side of the floor. Seemingly in the direction of the elevators. Could they possibly have slipped by him, or had they gotten here just before they arrived. Hojo's eyes flickered to the doors, as he passed them. Maybe hiding out in one of these rooms, hoping not to be discovered.  
  
Or perhaps.  
  
Hojo's eyes scanned up to the elevators. There were two walls, both laid out across from the other, each with their own elevator. It was difficult to pinpoint which one they could be in. The light above the right hand elevator indicated it was waiting at the bottom floor. The other was on its way down. Hojo glanced back down at the small device, to see if that would give some answer. The crease between his brows deepened. The target was actually going up. Already closing in on the thirtieth floor. Was Vincent climbing the inside of the elevator shaft?  
  
A sharp pain suddenly pierced him in his side. He dropped a hand to the wall, hand falling on his stomach. The injections had allowed the bullet wound to start healing, but it was still acting up. Sephiroth would have to be punished for this.  
  
The device had clattered to the ground, and Hojo stared down at it. Watching the orange dot rise along the floors. He would have to focus his rage before this, of course. No good will come from killing the child.  
  
"Sir, we've checked the stairwell, but nobody seems to be in there." One of the men came back, slowly making his way through the hall.  
  
Hojo straightened up, plucking the tracking device from the floor. "Where are you going?"  
  
"We've still stationed men along the stairwell, and have posted soldiers on each elevator. If they're traveling up, in any manner, we'll catch them."  
  
Hojo sighed, not even bothering to face the guard. His eyes too fixated on the orange dot. "No you won't."  
  
The guard's eyes narrowed. "With all due, respect, sir-"  
  
"I don't really care what indignation you seem to feel you need to share."  
  
"Professor Hojo." Terry's sudden voice broke through his com-link. Hojo pressed the button on his collar to respond. "What is it?"  
  
"We just got footage of multiple cameras going dead on the fiftty-ninth floor."  
  
"Any sign of what caused it?"  
  
"It appeared as though they were hit by something, but there's no sign of what it was."  
  
Hojo closed his eyes, sighing slowly. "Valentine."  
  
"Sir?" The guard walked up behind him. "What do you want us to do?"  
  
Hojo rolled his eyes. They wouldn't be helpful anyway, so why even bother asking. He hit the call elevator button, (On the opposite wall he'd come through.) waving a hand back, without even bothering to face him. "Tell you what? Head into that room, and retrieve my vials."  
  
The guard turned to where he was indicating, and headed for the door Hojo was messing with earlier. "This one, sir?"  
  
The elevator dinged, and opened before him. "Yes, now hurry up. Your presence is tiresome." Hojo stepped into the elevator, and pressed the fifty-ninth floor button.  
  
A little ways down the hall, the guard opened the door, and was immediately blasted into the other wall, by a loud explosion, incinerating him on the spot. Leaving only a human shaped shadow on the hated having to waste his bomb this way, but it's not like he could get it back now. Although he did suppose that was a fair test, if not an impractical use. Oh well. He'd have more opportunities to further his research.


	9. Chapter 9

Sephiroth clung as tightly to the cable as he could. His hands were slipping very slightly from his grip, and he had to hook his feet around the cable to keep from slipping off. The sides of his feet, and palms were starting to burn with the exertion against the steel cable, but he held on relentlessly. The cable gave a sudden jolt, jarring his hold. Sephiroth yelped, his feet falling off, hands slipping a few feet along the cable, before his grip came back. He hung there, slipping periodically, before he started to realize the cable was ascending slowly, soon coming to a stop. The elevator must have arrived at the first floor. Sephiroth reached a foot back towards the ladder, occupying a foothold before trying to transfer his hands.

He clung to the ladder, panting, eyes looking down the dark shaft. The elevator was nowhere in sight, and nothing could be seen, aside from a very distant light down below. His breaths, in the resulting silence, was almost as blinding as the darkness. Sephiroth waiting on the ladder, for a time, trying to rest his breathing. Who would have thought having to hold onto something could be so tiring?

Sephiroth's hands still stung. He ran his fingers gently across his palms and felt the working of callouses starting to form. With a deep sigh, Sephiroth started to fish in his pockets again, pulling out the small map. What floor was he even on anyway? After messing with the dials a bit, Sephiroth found his location. He had made it up to the fiftieth floor. So much closer, but still not quite there.

After what felt like way too long to catch his breath, Sephiroth started climbing the ladder again; trying very hard to ignore the sting in his hands. Only sixteen more to go. He could do this.

xXx

There were guards on the sixty-first floor, but Vincent didn't need to bother with them. There was only three, and they must have been veteran guards. The kind that had been there long enough to know when they could slack off, but not high enough to have enough access. These types had ranks up to floor sixty-two, but any higher than that was only for special people. As much as he hated it, he really wished he'd run across a Turk.

-or had remembered to ask Eryn for her access card.

Vincent slumped against the stairwell wall, and face-palmed hard, when this thought occurred to him. Damn, he must have been out for too long. Before Hojo fucked him over, he would have thought of that. Vincent sighed deep. Oh well. There was no use worrying about it now. Besides, someone may have realized she didn't have her card, sooner or later.

Vincent emerged on the sixty-second floor, sliding along the walls. Again, knowing just how to avoid the cameras. There was a sound of footsteps coming down the other end of the hall, and Vincent ducked behind a corner, listening intently as he came closer. Once he was in view, Vincent was able to make out that he was just another lower level guard. He groaned, making sure the guard was in the camera's blind spot, and pulled his gun on him. The sound of the hammer being tripped caused the guard to freeze in his steps. "Freeze, where you are, and put your hands on your head."

Slowly, the guard did as he was told. Trying to glance back at his assailant. His eyes widened in horror when he saw who was there. "You're the one they're looking for, aren't you?"

"Face forward. Are you the only one, on this floor?"

"Uh.. y-yea. I am."

At least that was a stroke of luck. "Stay put, and don't try any heroics." Vincent added, creeping closer towards him. "I don't want to have to shoot you."

"I don't believe I want that either." The guard stood completely still, rolling situations around in his head. Searching for some way around this situation. This guy had really scary eyes, but the sound of his voice sounded very familiar. Why was this?

Vincent pressed the gun to the base of his skull and pulled the guard's gun from its holster and unloaded his ammo, then started patting down to see if he had anything else useful on him. He didn't have any other weapons on him, but did have a key-card. Unfortunately, it was for the floor he was on. Vincent rolled his eyes, periodically dropping the items on the floor. There was a set of keys, that he didn't recognize as being for any part of ShinRa. Possibly house or car keys. It probably would be good to have a car, but he had no way to know which one was the guards. It'd just be easier to hot wire one. There was a radio, which Vincent crushed in his hands (still ignoring that he shouldn't be able to do that) and a pack of peanut butter crackers. Probably for a snack later. Vincent hummed thoughtfully and pocketed the crackers.

The guards eyes strained backwards to try and see him, assessing the situation. His hands were settled only a couple inches from where Vincent's gun was. He didn't seem to be paying close attention to this point. The guard slowly backed his hands off of his head, testing how much his assailant would notice. When he was sure he could get away from it, the guard snapped his hand around the barrel of the gun, trying to wrench it from his hand. Vincent grabbed the guard by the neck, and shoved him into the wall, planting the gun in his kidneys. "What did I tell you?"

"Ok, sorry." The guards splayed his hands against the wall, trying to be as innocent as he could. "I just y'know, it's my job. I need to try and stop you."

Vincent snorted, leaning in closer to him, whispering in his ear. "That's been the last words for many men."

"Ok, yea. You're right. I shouldn't have tried it. Don't kill me. I just got a promotion."

Vincent drew back and scoffed. "This is some promotion. I'd hate to think of what you were before."

The guard flushed. "I was um... a janitor."

"Oh. Maybe you should have stayed one."

"Yea, I'm thinking the same thing." The guard said with a listless sigh.

Vincent started to feel bad for this guy. It would be in his best interest to incapacitate him, but he really didn't want to hurt him now. Then again, it was never a good idea to let your feelings impair your better judgment. Vincent sighed, swearing under his breath in Wutainese.

The guard's brows furrowed, processing this new knowledge. "Wait a minute."

"What?" Vincent growled, pushing the gun in harder.

The guard cringed against the pain. "A-are you Vincent Valentine?"

"What does that matter?"

"Oh, man. You are him. I didn't recognize you, with your hair so long."

"Um..."

"Where the hell have you been?"

Vincent didn't know if it was the tone in his voice, or some random stranger showing legitimate concern for him, but his grip loosened slightly, on the back of his neck. The guard didn't seem to notice. He continued to talk into the wall.

"I mean, you just disappeared one day." He must have began to realize the relinquish in hold, because he turned his head to look at him. "There were rumors that you finally cracked under the pressure and ran out on your assignment."

"I what!?" Anger instantly flared in Vincent's eyes and the guard recoiled again.

"That's just what I heard." He squeaked, cuddling up to the wall again. "It was buzzing all over ShinRa. Of course, I didn't believe a word of it."

Vincent's anger subsided at this confession, which the guard took as an opportunity to look back at him again.

"You were one of the best." He stated gently, eye nearly sparkling. "You've faced some of the most fucked up stuff, and never even flinched. I wasn't about to believe you were ran off by guard duty. Only a real moron would believe that."

Gently, Vincent's grip loosened more and more, as he spoke, until even the gun fell away.

The realization hit the guard just as slowly, before he finally turned fully to him. "Well, ignoring all the conspiracy theories... where did you go?"

Vincent's eyes, which had been trailing somewhere along the guard's wrists, snapped up to his face. The corner's edged with annoyance. "That's classified."

The guard visibly shuddered. Did they always glow like that? "Of course it is. It's just been so long since anyone saw or heard from you. Jonas and Ruma looked everywhere for you."

Vincent's eyes softened slightly at the mention of his friends' names, before narrowing again. "That's classified. Do you know what happened to them?"

The guard shrugged. "Hell if I know. I wasn't in on any of the juicey stuff. Just vague rumors."

"What kind of rumors?"

The guard smiled, with Vincent showing interest in what he had to say. "Well, it was never confirmed, of course, but there was news that Ruma went postal and actually tried to kill the president."

Vincent's eyes quirked curiously. Shane tried to kill the president? There was no way he'd ever do anything that stupid. He would have been instantly executed for that. AS though to confirm his suspicions, Eryn flashed into his mind. The way she reacted when he had asked her what happened to Shane. It couldn't be possible

That's just what I heard through the grapevine, but I was not able to ever confirm this. Pssht. Who would ever tell a lowly janitor? The only reason I even wanted to work my way up the ShinRa social ladder was to figure out what was going on, but I only feel like I've been downgraded."

"What do you mean?" Vincent really didn't feel like he had time for small talk with this man, but he was still debating on snapping his neck. Plus, it was interesting to find out some things that had happened whilst he was in Hojo's clutches.

"Well, as a janitor, I could occasionally catch snippets of conversations as I cleaned. It was about the closest I'd ever get to the real action." He scoffed, glancing down at the key-card on the ground. "Now, this is as far up as I go."

Something clicked together in Vincent's brain and he felt his heart jump in his chest. "You had access to the whole building?"

The guard shrugged. "I had to. Everything needed to be cleaned."

"So, you would know how to get to the higher floors."

"Yea, sure. Why do you want to get higher?"

Vincent shook his head. "That doesn't concern you. Just tell me."

"Well, there's a janitor's office on every other floor. I'm sure there's a key card in there somewhere." He smiled, shaking his head. "Jordan was always losing his cards. We had to keep spares hidden around, just so he could do his job." The guard leaned in closer, cupping a hand around his mouth. "Sometimes I sneak in there and swipe one. Y'know, to sneak a girl up there." Not really sure why he was whispering. It's not like there was anyone else around to listen. Either way, Vincent re-cocked the hammer of his gun. This guy had no business being so close to him. "Makes me look important."

Vincent took a step back. That was more information than he needed. "Where's the nearest janitor's office?"

"Oh, just around the corner there." He pointed down to the end of the hall, he just came from. "Any access card, to this floor should open it."

Vincent smirked. "Thanks... and sorry."

"For wha-AH" He was dropped to the ground by Vincent kicking his sharply in the side of the knee cap. It may or may not have broken, but it was definitely dislocated. "What the hell?"

"It's for your own good. I can't have it look like you just let me go." Vincent dropped down to cushion his fall. "Just be thankful I can't risk shooting you."

"Oh yea. This is much better."

"It is. Trust me." Vincent stood, surveying the area. "Word of advice, if you want to be in on the information, then don't be so easy to divulge it." He started up the hallway, still slinking in the shadows.

The guard watched him, till he was out of sight, and scoffed. "Yea, sure." He shifted, his knees twinging from the pain. "Maybe you should take your own advice." He raised a hand to his collar, checking the little two holed button installed there. "Hey, you there?"

"Yea, I heard." Terry's voice rang in his ear.

"He's heading up, for some reason, and I saw a radio antenna hanging out of his pocket."

"He must be using that to listening in for updates."

"Where do you think the kid is?"

"It's hard to say. Maybe he was hiding."

"Or, they got separated."

"Yea, sure." Terry scoffed, but the guard wasn't even listening. He was too proud of himself.

"So'd I do good? Think I can be a Turk?"

"Uh... yea, sure. I'll put in a word for you." Without giving a chance to respond, Terry cut off the line, and slumped back in his chair. "Yea right. Like I need more problems on my hands. " He rolled his eyes, dialing Hojo's personal frequency.

xXx

-Forty-five minutes earlier-

"How's the search going?" Eryn inquired, walking into a room with a wall full of camera footage.

Terry leaned back in his chair, spinning slightly to see her. "Not good." He groaned, rubbing his sore neck. A flash of Vincent seeming to teleport flashed in his head. Along with the pressure of him grabbing his neck. Still, it was better to pretend he wasn't fazed. "There was a black out here, but all I see are guards failing at their jobs." He waved vaguely to the screens, and rocked the swivel chair back, arms folded across his chest. "Don't know why I'm surprised."

Eryn inched closer, dropping a hand on the side of the row of screens, eying them intently. "That's the fifty-ninth floor." She commented inquisitively, her hand slipping a small black nub on the edge of the screen. Pushing the center of it in. "I saw him run downstairs." She glanced back at Terry. "How'd he get all the way up there?"

Terry shrugged. "Hell if I know. Maybe he can fly now." He laughed off the notion in a bitter-sweet manner; remembering how Vincent had seemed to transform before him the last time they met up.

"Strange." Eryn commented, turning back to the screens.

"And worst of all, I'm stuck here at the screens, until I spot one of them."

"You?" The nub made a small clicking noise. One that wouldn't be heard, unless she had been listening for it, and blocked by the humming of the modems. "Why not get one of the peons on it?"

Terry sighed, dropping his head in his hands. "Professor Hojo said he wants a trained Turk's eye at the helm. Said peons could miss something."

Eryn inwardly scoffed. Not sure whether to be appalled or amused at the notion of Terry being able to spot Vincent. Oh sure, Terry was good, in his own right. Vincent was just far better. She slipped the black nub back between her fingers, leaving her hand still propped on the edge of the screen.

"Hey. You wanna do me a big favor?" Terry asked, scrubbing his hands over his face.

Eryn cocked a half-caring brow at him. "Do I?"

"Yea. Get some of that surveillance equipment from the tech department and hook up the guards."

Eryn's brows furrowed. Half unsure, half annoyed that he was ordering her around. He may have been her best friend's partner, but that gave him no say in the matter. "What?"

"Just some of those two way radios we use on recon. Give it to some of the guards and send them to the upper levels. Something not even a Turk would be able to spot."

Eryn scoffed, waving a hand at him. "You're just lucky I was gonna head up there anyway." She mocked, sauntering out of the room. "No one tricks me, and gets away with it."

"Yea, whatever." Terry propped his elbows up on the table, dropping his chin in it. "Ever the proud woman."

When Eryn was out of range, she rolled her eyes. "Yea, like you're one to talk."

xXx

Ten minutes later: every camera monitor went dead.

xXx

It took a lot of time, but Sephiroth finally reached where his little map indicated was the sixty-sixth floor. He finally made it... but how was he going to get onto the floor? He'd learned some things about mechanics, but nothing that could help him in this instance. On the other side of the shaft was what looked like a set of doors. It's very possible he could pry them open somehow. There were steel girders tracing the walls, and Sephiroth slowly inched his way along them; around to the doors. He tried to squeeze his fingers in the crease, and pry it open that way, but there was no way he was going to working his fingers in there. The crack was just too thin.

Briefly, he considered knocking, and hoping Vincent was already out there.

Very briefly.

It was difficult to hold onto the thin beams, so Sephiroth's eyes skimmed his surroundings very quickly. It was very dark, but his eyes had adjusted to it. So, there was very broad generalizations made of the area. After a while, and with great difficulty, Sephiroth finally had to fish out the digital map he had been using to light up the area. At this new addition, Sephiroth spotted a series of wires coming from the bottom of the door. It was then that Sephiroth remember something Vincent had said.

" _There should be a fail-safe mechanism to open the door from the inside."_

He climbed down below the door, and held the little light up to the array of wires along the bottom of the door. He could figure this out. He always had a good perceptive comprehension, and he had seen Vincent do this. Sephiroth put the technological map in his mouth, still managing to arrange it so the light was facing the wires. Now, all he had to do was follow the ex-Turk's previous actions. Simple enough.

Sephiroth's fingers skated over the three wires, trying to identify which one was the right one. He remembered green. The middle wire was green, so he grabbed one end and pulled it out. Surprisingly, the wire just slid out. Almost like it wasn't connected, or just kind of plugged it. There were other areas, which looked vaguely like ports, near the wires. It had to be one of these. Sephiroth took the exposed end of the wire, and wedged it into one of the ports. It sparked, the way he remembered it doing before, but nothing happened. There was a good chance the wrong ports did something, but nothing that would matter, or be noticeable to the immediate area. Sephiroth disconnected the wire and tried another port.

There was a spark, and the elevator shaft shuddered. Sephiroth glanced back and noticed the cables were moving. Drawing the elevator back towards him. "Whoa, no!" He quickly pulled it out, taking note of this. The elevator appeared to return to its factory setting. Ok, it could do something. There were a few other ports, and there was no telling which would work. If only he had paid closer attention.

Well, third times a charm. A bit more hesitantly, Sephiroth picked a third port, and inserted the wire. The wall gave another shudder, but this time the door opened above him.

Sephiroth had to stop himself from squealing in excitement, and climbed in through the door. It wasn't until he settled down against the wall that he realized how exhausted he was. Finally, he was here – but where was Vincent? Had he actually gotten here before him?

xXx

-Now-

"So, Sephiroth isn't with him?" Hojo inquired through his intercom.

"No, sir." Terry responded, from the earpiece. Persistent typing could be heard accompanying his voice. "It also might interest you to know, that he seemed very interested on the whereabouts of Ruma and Jonas."

Hojo's brows creased in contemplation. He definitely knew both of them. They were Turks that worked with Vincent. They'd come to pester him many times. Very persistent, and annoying. A snide sneer slid across his face, at the thought of Shane Ruma. If only Vincent knew what had happened to his old partner.

The typing stopped, and Terry groaned in aggravation. "But someone's knocked out all the camera's. I can't even get a peg on either of them, even if they were in frame."

Hojo scowled. That incompetent fool. Didn't know why he was surprised. It's not like he expected much from him, in the first place. Vincent must have found some way to take out the camera feeds. "Fine then. Get your ass back out there and search."

"Yes, Sir."

Hojo cut the connection, in frustration, punching at the wall. The hard plaster dented against his fist. "I'm going to be so happy to finally get my hands on him." As if by habit, he pulled out the tracking device, checking over it. The orange dot he had been tracking had stopped again. Somewhere on the sixty-sixth floor. He was actually surprised that it had gotten there so fast. Upon further inspection, Hojo realized the dot was moving again... just not up. It was moving along the schematic for the sixty-sixth floor.

The sneer slid across Hojo's face again; much deeper. It didn't make much sense for them to head up, when Vincent wanted to get Sephiroth out of ShinRa, but Hojo knew what kind of area there was available to them up there. Pocketing the tracking device, Hojo pressed a button, on his collar, to call Terry back. "Change of plans. Gather as much competence, as is possible, and meet me on the sixty-fifth floor. I know where they're heading."

**Author's Note:**

> AN: all righty, hope you enjoyed that. don't know when the next chapter will be up, mostly cuz i don't want to write the next part... not cuz it's bad or anything, (ok maybe it is) but it's dull and i'm too lazy. tell ya what though, i know it may be kinda obvious NEway, but i hope not too obvious.


End file.
